More time together
by Captain Sensible
Summary: After choosing to sacrifice Chloe for the sake of Arcadia Bay, a sequence of events makes Max get much closer to Warren. How will their relationship develop from there? (This fanfiction is a humble attempt to write a slow paced Grahamfield story. Any comments are welcome!)
1. Chapter 1 - Facing the present

Chapter 1:

Max focused on the butterfly picture.

As expected, she found herself at Blackwell´s bathroom again. Hopeless and exhausted, she sat on the floor, embracing her own knees and hiding her face, trying to muffle her weeping. She felt impotent, the only thing she could do was waiting for the tragedy she already had witnessed another time.

She couldn´t actually listen to Nathan´s and Chloe´s voices. Her head was spinning and she felt like she was underwater. The shot noise, however, made her get back to reality. From now on, everything was new to her.

She struggled to get up - her knees were trembling, she felt dizzy and sick. She had to get up, though - she couldn´t just let Chloe lying on the floor, dead.

Dead... Chloe was dead. And she had to face it, to look at her body, knowing that her death was a consequence of a choice only she could make. She runned to get to Chloe, but it was like she was in slow-motion.

She throwed herself to the ground, placing Chloe´s head on her lap. Her blue eyes were still sparkling, but her unfocused gaze made Max remember that the Chloe who was lying on her arms didn't have the memories of their amazing last week. This Chloe died thinking that Max had abandoned her forever. It was so unfair. And painful, not only emotionally, but also physically. Max cried so hard and felt so guilty that she couldn't even breath properly. She ended up fainting over Chloe's body.

-

Right after the shot, Nathan Prescott yelled and bursted through the bathroom door, falling on his hands and knees. He was crying and grunting like a wounded animal.

The students that were around went into panick and started to run through the hallway, thinking that some sort of school mass shooting was happening.

David Madsen quickly intervened, disarming and immobilizing Nathan, who was having a nervous breakdown. David asked Samuel to hold Nathan for a while so he could see what was going on inside the girls bathroom.

He opened the door and saw an unconscious girl lying over another girls face. The girl lying on the floor had a heavy amount of blood on her shirt. The scene gave him goose-pimples. When he got closer and saw a lock of blue hair, he felt like someone had punched his stomach and he couldn't breath. He thought of Joyce immediately, feeling deeply sorry for her. Pity soon became rage and he stepped out the bathroom, shouting to Principal Wells to call 911. He also told the school nurse to check the girls on the bathrooms, and ordered the curious students to leave the building. He had such hatred in his gaze and voice that in a couple of minutes all the students were out.

-

At the exact moment Nathan's gun fired, killing Chloe, Warren was at the science lab. The class had just finished, but he was helping Ms. Grant to organize the place, as usual. He heard the shot and shouting, but when he approached the door to see what was going on, a bunch of students ran over him, looking for shelter in the lab. When he finally reached the door, David Madsen was already ordering everybody to leave the building, so he just followed the crowd.

In the outside, the noise of the students chatting about the occurence was almost deafening. Some were saying that one girl was shot, others said that there were two, even three girls. Warren looked in every directions, seeking for familiar faces. He saw Brooke, Luke, Daniel... Then Dana, Trevor, Kate, Alyssa, and many others but Max.

He approached Kate and asked about Max, but she also didn't know where she was. Feeling slightly dizzy by Kate's answer, Warren picked up his phone and tried to call Max. No response. He tried one, two, three more times, and nothing, she didn't picked it up.

Aware of the rumours that some girls had been shot in the bathroom, he started to fear the worst. He turned back to the school's building with the intention of getting in there and seeing what was happening, when an ambulance got there, along with the police. The officers ordered everyone to stay out of the way and entered the building with the paramedics.

...

The paramedics entered the girls bathroom and saw a lifeless girl lying on the floor. Next to her, shivering, there was another girl, who seemed obvioulsy in shock. The school's nurse was there, and, almost whispering, told the paramedics that one girl was dead and the other was unconscious when she got there.

The paramedics questioned Max about her name, if she was wounded, and other things, but she couldn't answer. In fact, she was not listening, she felt like she was out of her own body, watching the scene like someone who watches a movie. Although she didn't seem hurt, the crew decided to take her to the hospital to proceed some medical exams and keep her under observation for some hours.

...

Less than ten minutes after entering the school's building, the paramedics left it, now carrying a barrow. Ms. Grant was walking by they side. Warren did everything he could to catch a glimpse through the crowd of who was being taken to the ambulance. He finally saw the person's right wrist and immediately recognized Max's blue and red bands. He felt his heart skip a bit, and almost automatically rushed towards the parking lot.

Kate ran after him, asking where he was heading to. He told her he was going to the hospital and she asked to go with him. Quickly, they left on the car he had bought on the day before.

...

Meanwhile, in the crime scene, the police started to collect evidence. About one hour later, Chloe's body was taken to the legal medicine institute, where an authopsy would be perfomed. David went along with them, devastated, trying to figure how he would tell Joyce.

...

In the car, Warren kept silent, trying to focus on the driving. He only broke the silence when they were next to the hospital and told Kate that his mother worked there as a nurse and he would make sure she looked after Max.


	2. Chapter 2 - A bond made of Amber

Inside the ambulance, Ms. Grant kept holding Max's hand all the time, which made her feel a bit calmer. When they finally got to the hospital, Max was quickly placed on a wheel bed and taken to an ambulatory room. Ms. Grant stayed at the reception.

The coldness and the smell of the hospital instantly reminded Max of Jefferson's dark room, making her feel uneasy again. Her eyes moved everywhere, trying to find any comforting spot, but it seemed impossible: the sight of those metallic medical equipments around her were triggering a lot of bad memories.

The voices of the hospital crew sounded indistinct to her. She only started to come back to herself when a doctor approached her face and pointed a flashlight to her eyes, to check her eye pupils. After a few seconds, he turned the flashlight off and started to test Max's reflexes, while asking some questions such as her name, age, address and so on, to check her level of consciousness. She closed her eyes and answered to all of the questions laconically – she just wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible. A few instants and a lot of neurological tests later, the doctor spoke to Max: according to him, she seemed fine, but would have to stay some hours in observation.

Max wasn't counting on that, since she knew she was fine, at least physically. Her heart and mind were devastated, and there was nothing a doctor could do to fix it. Max tried to argue with the practitioner, but he insisted: he was obligated to follow that protocol and it was for her own good.

The doctor left the ambulatory room, ordering two assistants to take Max to a bedroom. Frustrated, she rested her head on the pillow, while a man and a woman pushed her wheel bed out of the ambulatory, through the hallway. This time, though, the hospital environment didn't trigger any of her dark room memories – in fact, she didn't even bother about it now. Fear had turned into anger and determination.

…..

Warren and Kate arrived at the hospital about ten minutes after the ambulance, since he had to stop at some traffic lights. They met Ms. Grant at the reception, and she told them that Max seemed fine at the ambulance and was now being examined by the doctors.

Warren contacted his mother, and a couple minutes later she showed up, visibly worried: the news about the Blackwell incident had already spread over the hospital and possibly the whole town. She hugged him and asked if he was okay. He nodded, but seemed quite nervous. Stammering a bit, he told her about Max, asking his mother to take care of the girl. She knew her son well and saw in his eyes that he was really concerned: that girl clearly meant a lot to him. She promised her son she would take care of his friend and went back to the hospital's interior.

….

As soon as the assistants left the room, Max jumped out of the bed and picked her bag, looking for her cell phone. She was eager to call anyone who could tell her what was going on at Blackwell at that moment. A lot of questions were popping inside her head: where did they take Chloe? Was Nathan arrested? Was Jeff... uh, anyone else arrested? Besides that, she wanted to talk to her parents, who were in New York for a week vacation, as soon as possible. Despite they didn't know about Chloe for the last five years, Max knew she was like a daughter to them, like she was to William and Joyce.

She finally found her cell phone, but it was out of battery, probably because a lot of people called her right after the event. Max leaned on the bed, feeling defeated. For a second she considered using her power to sneak out of the hospital, but the vivid reminiscence of the tornado made her give up of the idea: "enough of time manipulating for now", she thought.

She decided to look for a public phone. When she was about to open the door to leave, a nurse entered the room. A couple of swear-words popped into Max's head: she feared the doctors might think she was mentally confused and should take some sort of sedative - that would make her situation even worse. However, for Max's surprise, the nurse didn't scold her; instead, she spoke kindly to her, asking if she needed anything.

Max sat on the bed, staring at her hands. That woman sounded sincere, but she didn't know if she could trust her, since everyone had been so unsympathetic to her at that place.

Max kept silent. Trying to establish some communication with the patient, the middle-aged brown haired woman introduced herself: her name was Amber and she was designated to take care of the girl for the next hours. The nurse's name instantly reminded Max of Rachel. She wondered if it was some sort of sign. She had always been a skeptical person, but after that week she would believe anything.

Amber continued, telling Max that she was Warren 's mother and that he asked her to look after his friend. Max lifted her head and looked at the nurse. She didn't know if it was a sign, but it sure made her feel safe for the first time since she got to that hospital.

...

Warren, Kate and Ms. Grant were at the hospital's reception, waiting for any information about Max's health condition. Sometimes they chatted for a bit, but most of the time they  
kept in silence. At one of those times Ms. Grant told Warren that she and his mother went to the same college, and that she knew that Max would be in good hands.

Warren could not sit still. For several times, he got up and walked a few steps, turning to his seat again, over and over. Suddenly, he felt his cell phone vibrating: it was a message from Brooke, telling him the whole press was at Blackwell. She also asked how Max was. He wondered how did she know he was at the hospital with Max.

Kate received a call from her parents: they had just heard about the incident and were very worried about her. They ordered her to stay at her aunt's place until the next day, when they would take her to their home at Montana.

When Amber showed up at the reception again, the teacher and the two students ran towards her. The nurse provided them some information about Max and said she requested to see them.

...

Max waited for her friends and teacher standing in front of the bed. The door opened and they entered the room. Kate ran to Max and hugged her. Ms. Grant approached them and gently touched one of Max's arm. Warren didn't know what to do and just stood behind them, rubbing his neck like he always did when he felt nervous, which was mostly every time he was around Max.

Knowing in beforehand that Max intended to talk privately to her school mates, Amber invited Ms. Grant to have a coffee with her. They left the students alone.

First, Max spoke to Warren : she thanked him for being there and for asking his mother to take care of her. She told him how great his mother was being to her; she even lent her cell phone to call Max's parents so they could catch the first flight from New York to Seattle and then drive to Arcadia Bay.

He smiled shyly at her and said she could count on him for anything. "I know", she thought.

Then, her expression. turned tense. She turned her back to Kate and Warren and placed her hands on the bed. Feeling a lump in her throat, she took a deep breath and wiped a few tears from her eyes. She told them the girl in the bathroom wasn't a random girl … She was her childhood friend, Chloe.

Shocked, Warren and Kate got closer to her, trying to comfort their friend with words. Max, however, didn't feel like getting into details about her relationship with Chloe at the moment. It was too painful for her and besides that, as the introverted girl she was, crying in front of others wasn't her thing.

Struggling to keep herself together, she turned back to their friends and asked them a favor: to find out about Chloe's funeral. At that timeline, Joyce hadn't seen Max for five years; it was likely that she didn't have her number.

The door opened again: Amber came back and said that Max needed to rest. Kate and Warren assured the girl they would bring her the information as soon as possible, and that they would stay at the hospital while she was there. Right after they left, Max laid on the bed and covered herself. Alone, she allowed herself to cry. Without noticing, she fell asleep some minutes later.

….

Back to the hospital's reception, Warren thanked his mother, giving her a hug. She smiled, reaffirming her commitment to look after Max, and then went back to work.

Ms. Grant said goodbye to everyone: since Max was being taken good care of, she decided to head back to Blackwell to help Principal Wells.

Kate and Warren went to the hospital cafeteria to have a snack while discussing about how they would find out about Chloe's funeral. After a number of phone calls, they finally got Juliet's number. As a budding journalist, she already had gathered a lot of information about the case, willing to write a report and maybe publish it. She told Kate that since the victim was David Madsen's step daughter and Blackwell's ex-student, Principal Wells requested a few students to pay the respects to the family at the funeral, on behalf of the school. The funeral would be on the next day at 10 p.m.

Before Juliet could make any question, Kate thanked her and hung up. She told Warren what Juliet had just informed her on the way of the waiting room where they would stay for the next few hours.

...

Two hours later, Amber entered Max's room, bringing her a snack on a tray. She placed it on a table and gently touched Max's arm to wake her up.

Max opened her eyes and sat on the bed. Rubbing her eyes, she asked Amber what time it was - she felt like she slept for days.

Amber talked to Max while handing her a sandwich and a glass of juice. Max was starving and quickly took a big bite of the sandwich. As Amber spoke, Max realized how she reminded her of Joyce. Both of them had that kind of voice that made people feel calmer and believe that everything would be alright.

When Max finished the snack, Amber's expression turned a bit more serious: she told the girl that the two policemen were there to talk to her.

Max's eyes widened and she got distracted, wondering if she could handle something like that at that moment. Then, remembering what Chloe asked her at the lighthouse, she made up her mind: she would talk to the officers. She would do anything she could to help the police to find the truth about Rachel and Jefferson.

Max asked Amber to send the officers in. The nurse alerted the girl that she wasn't obligated to do that, but she was really determined to face it at that moment.

...

After a fifteen minutes conversation, the policemen left Max's room. There wasn't much she could tell them: she limited her testimony to what she actually witnessed at the bathroom, since she didn't want to fall into contradiction.

Amber came back to Max's room bringing the good news: she was going to be discharged from the hospital. The nurse told the girl to get ready and then left again.

Max felt a mix of relief and anxiety. On one hand, she would finally leave that hospital. Although Amber made things a lot easier for her, spending the night at the hospital wouldn't be an easy experience. On the other hand, she realized she hadn't think what she was going to do after being discharged.

Her parents were in New York, and they sure would arrive at Arcadia Bay only on the next day, if they were lucky. Besides that, she didn't have any relatives at the town. Would she have to sleep at her dorm at school? She couldn't even imagine going back to Blackwell that day. Plus, it was friday and it was likely that most of the students went home. And there might be reporters there willing to ask all kind of obnoxious questions to her. On the top of that, Mr. Jefferson was still free. As Max's mind was dominated by those thoughts, she started to panic.

Kate and Warren entered the room and found Max sitting on the bed, bracing her knees. Her face was pale and she seemed distressed. They felt surprised, since they were expecting that she would be glad to leave the hospital.

They asked what was going on. She hesitated a bit, but revealed her thoughts, except for the one concerning Jefferson. Kate apologized herself, telling Max that she would spend the night by an aunt. She was a nun and lived by a convent - it was unlikely that the Mother Superior would allow any other person there. Max felt upset but told Kate she understood.

Max left the bed and picked her bag. The idea of going to Blackwell so soon sickened her, but there was no other option. She was about to open the door when she heard Warren's voice, a bit unsteady, calling her name.

Not daring to look her in the eyes, he offered his house: she could stay at their guest room. He was blushing.

His offering caught Max off guard. In a first moment, she thought "no way!". It would be weird, since she knew he was starting to crush on her on that timeline and that she uh... kissed him hours ago. She thought about her other option... There wasn't actually another option: spending that night at Blackwell was inconceivable. Then, she reminded how helpful Warren was to her on both timelines and felt she could trust him. It would be only one night anyway...

She said yes.


	3. Chapter 3 - Not-so-trivial trivialities

Amber Graham cut the hospital's wristband from Max's left wrist while talking to her. "I feel so relieved that you'll stay at our house... I must confess that the idea of leaving you all by yourself tonight was worrying me. When you get there, please make yourself at home and try to rest as much as you can."

Max smiled softly at the nurse. "Thank you so much, I really don't know what I'd do if it wasn't for you and Warren..."

Amber put her hand on Max's shoulder, reassuring the student. "That's what friends are for. Did you get all of your belongings?"

Max nodded. "See you soon then!" Amber said to Max while opening the room's door.

Walking through the main hallway, Max spotted Kate and Warren waiting for her at the reception. Both stood up when they saw her. As she was getting closer to them, she started to feel some butterflies in her stomach. _'I'm so grateful to Warren and his mother... It would feel really awkward going back to Blackwell tonight, if not terrifying... Well, things may get a little weird between Warren and me... But I guess I can handle this sort of awkwardness...'_

Warren didn't feel much different than Max, as he saw her approaching. _'Surreal, to say the least. Few hours ago I was just planning to show her my car... And maybe ask her for the drive-in, if there was an opportunity... And now... I'm about to take Max to my house, to spend the night. It was supposed to be the coolest thing ever, but not under the current circumstances...'_

Those thoughts saddened him. _'She needs total support now.'_ Warren thought, striving to smile at Max when she stopped in front of him and Kate. "Hey Max... Shall we go?"

Max nodded yes, and the three friends headed to the hospital's parking lot.

...

"Nice wheels, Warren. Very old school." Max remarked, while Warren opened the car passenger door and pulled the front seat forward.

"1978, to be exact!" He replied, feeling shyly proud.

While they were still talking, Kate entered the car and took the backseat. Max took her place on the front seat and opened her bag, searching for a piece of paper and a pen.

Max was looking down, so she didn't notice Warren not so subtly gazing at her as he entered the car. He couldn't help it: it was probably the closest he got to her since they met for the first time. A few seconds later, he came to himself. _'Focus'_ He mentally said to himself, while starting the car.

Warren drove fast: it was almost 5 p.m. and he had a lot of errands to run before picking up his little sister Emily at school by 6 p.m. Usually, it was their father's responsibility, but he was out of town for a job, and their mother would have to stay longer at work that evening.

As agreed between him and the two girls, first, he would leave Max at his house; then, he and Kate would head to Blackwell to get some clothes and other personal belongings for Max and herself, and to take Alice as well. Next, Warren would drive Kate to her aunt's place, where she would spend the night. Finally, he would pick up Emily at school and then drive back home.

On the front seat, Max struggled to keep her right hand steady: she was [trying to] write down a list of things she would need for the next couple days. It wasn't much: just a change of clothes, some hygiene items, her cell phone charger and her notebook. The list also included a black dress and a necklace with a doe pendant, for Chloe's funeral.

After a ten minutes drive, Warren parked his car at one of Arcadia Bay's typical streets and announced, sounding a bit nervous: "It's here!"

The three students exited the car. As Warren walked toward the house's front door to open it, Max stood behind, contemplating it for a while. It was a cheerful light yellow house; the door and the windows frames where painted white; colorful flowers decorated the front. _'It matches Warren's sunny personality'_ Max thought.

As soon as they entered the house, Warren went upstairs to check out the guest room. Max took the chance to speak in private to Kate.

"Kate, here is the list. Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, going to Blackwell now... Things must be pretty bad there ..." Max asked, worried.

The blond girl took the piece of paper from her friend's hands and nodded her head supportively. "I'm glad to be of some help to you on such a hard day."

Max thanked her and took a breath before continuing the conversation. "Kate... I noticed that you've been extra quiet and introverted this week... Listen, I don't want to invade your privacy, I just want you to know that you can count on me for anything, ok? If you need to talk to someone, just call me, anytime... I've got your back, and so do a lot of other people, like Warren and Alyssa. You're not alone, you need to know that."

Kate's eyes became watery and her voice trembled. "Max... You're such an amazing person... Even going through everything you did today, you still look after others. Thank you, that makes me feel blessed for the first time this week."

They hugged, feeling supported by each other.

...

Warren opened the curtains of the guest room to let the sunshine in and quickly made the bed. Before going downstairs he went to his parent's balcony and picked off one white flower, putting it inside a glass vase filled with water. He placed it on the guest room's bedstand.

A few instants later, he called Max. As she walked by the room, Warren explained a lot of things to her: where she could find towels, soap, tooth paste, etc. He spoke fast out of nervousness, making it a little difficult to follow him. It didn't bother Max, though; being the observant person she was, her attention was much more focused on the room's details.

It was an en-suite room, very sunny and spacious; the walls were light lavender and the furniture was white; the bed was covered by a white bedspread decorated with tiny yellow  
flowers.

"Warren, when you mentioned a guest room I never pictured something like this. Do your parents rent it for tourists or something?" Max spoke to him, while walking toward the window to see the view.

He smiled, running his fingers through his hair. "No... My grandparents come to visit often, so my parents wanted to provide them a comfortable place to stay."

"It's really nice, very cozy." Max praised.

They went downstairs. Warren showed Max where she could find snacks and handed her a cordless telephone so she could make any call if she needed to.

Max said goodbye to Kate. Then, she went back to the guest room and, through the window, watched her friends leaving.

...

Kate and Warren arrived at Blackwell. They exited the car and carefully approached the school's building. Fortunately, the press and the police weren't there anymore. The place was calm but it felt a little spooky at the same time. Apparently, most of the students went home; however, many teachers' cars were still there.

The two students stopped in front of the girls dorm building. Kate opened the door and held it for Warren, who didn't move.

"You're not coming in?" Kate asked him, almost whispering.

Warren replied, hesitantly. "Uh... I don't know... Max may get upset if she knows I was in her dorm room..."

Kate spoke, trying to convince him. "We don't have much time... Besides that, I need help to carry the handbags and Alice's cage... I think she won't mind, she would've told me if she didn't want you to be in her room. It won't take long."

A bit reluctanctly, he went in. Differently from most of the other schoolboys, he'd never been to the girls dorm before. As he climbed the stairs and walked through the corridor, he noticed that it wasn't actually much different than the boy's.

Warren followed Kate until she stopped in front of the door of room 219. His heart fluttered: for him, it was like he was about to access some sort of forbidden land – and it felt both exciting and frightening at the same time.

Kate entered the room and went straight to Max's wardrobe. Warren took a breath and stepped in carefully. He stopped in the middle of the room and slowly took a look around.

Max's photo wall was the first thing that caught his attention. ' _Wow, that's… Beyond cool… I wish I had time to appreciate it.'_ He thought, as he moved forward, stopping in front of a hanging bookcase. _'She likes Cartier-Bresson and Doisneau... Nice. Hamilton? Intriguing...'_

He looked at the opposite wall and walked toward Max's couch. He giggled internally when he saw The October Country, of Ray Bradbury on it; he recalled when he told Max that he'd revoke her geek cred card because she didn't read it. He sighed when he saw her guitar. _'That's so... Max.'_

Warren turned his head to the left. He saw Kate facing the wardrobe and opening it's drawers. _'Oh, Kate is already getting Max's clo...WAAAAH PANTIES!?'_ Embarassed, he turned his eyes away and tried to step back, but ended up stumbling on the couch, landing on Max's guitar.

Kate heard the noise and, without turning to Warren, asked him. "Warren, what are you doing?"

"Uh... Nothing. Just wondering if Max would like us to take her guitar..." He answered, relieved that Kate didn't see him falling.

Kate replied, intrigued by his nonsense idea. "I don't think so... It's not on the list. I'm finished. You should get her notebook and cell phone charger while I go to my room and get my things."

She left the room, leaving the boy alone. He went to Max's desk and took the cell phone charger. When he lifted the notebook, he noticed that the flash drive he had borrowed Max on the week before was plugged into it. _'So she checked it out... Cool!'_ He unplugged the flash drive and put it in his pocket.

Warren walked toward the photo wall again. His mind wandered, as he took a look at some pictures. _'Max is an artist already. She has her own style, I bet soon she'll be exposing her work at art galleries in San Francisco and New York ... By the way, this room's decoration is so elegant... Nothing like my stereotypical "geek cave". Max is really at another level.'_

Those thoughts caused him to feel ashamed. He asked himself what a girl like Max would want with a dork like him. _'She probably sees me like a clingy geek brother that keeps flooding her mailbox and phone with cheesy messages. I'm such a loser.'_

Kate came back to the room. Noticing Warren's frown, she asked if everything was okay and he nodded yes, seeming a little vexed though. They took the girls' handbags and Alice's cage and left the dorm, going back to the car.

...

Warren kept silent most of the way to Kate's aunt's place. Imagining what could have made him upset at the dorm, she asked, chuckling. "You really like her, don't you?"

Astonished by Kate's question, he tried to disguise his feelings. "Uh, sure, Max is a... Really cool friend."

Kate looked at him. "You know what I mean..."

 _'I'm that obvious.'_ Warren realised, sighing hopelessly. "Okay... But please don't tell anyone, especially her. It will never happen anyway."

Kate tried to comfort him. "Don't be so pessimistic. Only God knows what the future holds. You have a lot in common, I think you two make a cute couple."

Right after she finished speaking, Warren parked his car in front of the convent where she would stay. Men weren't allowed in there, so he couldn't go any further. He took her stuff out of the car trunk and thanked her for the comforting words.

On the way to his sister's school, his only thought was: _'Kate is so naive! I wish things were as simple as she thinks...'_


	4. Chapter 4 - Warren's cocoon

Alone at the Graham's residence, Max took a quick shower and changed her doe t-shirt for a new white one that Warren's mother kept for forgetful guests. Though it was a bit oversized for the girl, it was clean and made her feel more comfortable.

Max laid in bed and closed her eyes. Although her body was begging for sleep, her mind was running fast, swirling in a spiral of doubt and guilt.

 _'_ _What if the tornado comes on next week anyway? What if it had anything to do with Chloe at all ... I will never forgive myself... If there's a tornado on next week, maybe I should focus on the butterfly photo once more... But what if Jefferson takes me to the Dark Room again... and kills me this time? Everything would be over. I don't have the picture with me anyway... I wonder if someone kept it…'_

As those thoughts took control of Max's mind, her eyes started to weep. She roughly swiped the tears from her face and swallowed the cry of pain that rose in her throat.

 _'_ _Enough of crying for now, Max. You'll have the rest of your life to do that. Now it's time to hold yourself together and support Chloe's family. Besides that, you need to keep an eye on Kate… She may fall apart when she knows what Jefferson did to her.'_

She closed her eyes again, unsuccessfully trying to sleep for a few minutes.

 _'_ _Ugh, I need a distraction. Too bad my phone is out of charge... I wonder if there's anything to read here...'_

Max got out of the bed and opened the bedstand's drawer: empty.

 _'_ _Warren is a bookworm, he sure must have quite a library in his bedroom... How nasty would it be if I sneaked into it and borrowed a book? He has been so helpful... He wouldn't mind, right?'_

She left the guest room and stood in front of Warren's door, which was right across the hall. Covering her eyes with one hand, she hesitantly grabbed the door knob with the other hand. _'Please, don't have porn posters on the walls...'_

She opened the door, slowly uncovering her eyes. _'Wow, that's actually… cooler than I expected.'_

Max walked a few steps into the room and took a look around. The walls were painted dark grey and the furnishings were black. The room wasn't too dark, though, because of a light wood floor and a huge sunny bay window.

Overpowered by curiosity, Max started to snoop around the entire room – even devastated by the last events, she couldn't help being nosy. Besides, she needed distraction, and Warren's bedroom was seeming to be some sort of geeky/nerdy amusement park for her. A very stylish one, by the way.

First, she went to his desk, which was really large. On the left side there was a home chemistry set, along with some exercise books. There was a Doctor Who's Tardis shaped pencil holder next to it.

On the right side of the desk, there was a huge computer monitor. _'His graphics card must be insane.'_ She thought, wondering what other games he played, apart from World of Warcraft.

Connected to the computer by a cable, there was a telescope, which was pointing to the window _. 'I wonder how far this telescope can see...'_

On a bottom shelf she saw a PlayStation 3 and a pile of board games like Carcassonne, Puerto Rico and Settlers of Catan.

On the wall above the desk, there was a periodic table poster. Next to it there was a small picture board: it contained some sticky notes and a few pictures of Warren with his family and friends. One picture caught her attention: Warren, probably around 11 years old, standing in the middle of his parents, holding his newborn sister. He was wearing glasses and braces. _'Aaw that's so cute! I bet getting rid of the glasses and braces made Warren happy though.'_

The other walls had anime posters like Evangelion, Kimagure Orange Road and Twin Spica on it. Max didn't know any of them, but the drawing style made her feel interested in watching them someday. She also acknowledged posters of Battlestar Galactica, The X-Files, and a really corny one of Electric Dreams movie.

On the wall above the bed, there were some nankin drawings: they had black frames and white mat, looking quite elegant on the grey wall.

Finally, Max got to Warren's bookshelf: it was as huge as she imagined. Along with the books there were a couple of cute anime schoolgirls action figures, as well as a Star Trek's Enterprise replica and a few dinosaur miniatures. As she glanced at the bookshelf, some things caught her attention. First, a vynil collection that included 80's rock bands like The Cure and The Smiths and classical composers such as Stravinsky and Sibelius. _'Now that's eclectic!'_

Some shelves were fully occupied with manga collections like Love Hina and Lovely Complex. She noticed that the schoolgirl action figures were actually characters in those manga series. _'It's funny to think Warren put a lot of ultraviolent movies in his flash drive for me to watch, when it seems that he's much more into sci-fi and romance... I guess any other guy would do exactly the opposite of him!'_

She spotted a lot of other interesting titles on the other shelves: from classic The Lord of the Rings to beatnik masterpiece Naked Lunch; comic books such as The Sandman, Superman and The Complete Carl Barks' Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge Library.

 _'_ _So many options... It won't be easy to choose one single book.'_

Max decided that a graphic novel would suit her better at that moment, so she grabbed five or six books that seemed more interesting. Since she didn't want to take so many books from Warren's bedroom, she sat on the bench below the bay window to take a quick look at each one.

After flipping the pages of three or four books, one of them captured her interest: Blankets, from Craig Thompson. A few pages later, however, she dozed off.

...

Warren arrived home and went straight upstairs. After placing Max's handbag in front of her door, he went to his bedroom.

He froze at the very moment he opened the door, thinking he stepped in the wrong room. Almost instantly, though, he realized it was his room indeed – the only difference was that Max was sleeping on his bench.

Not knowing what to do, he walked backward and forward a couple times. He didn't dare to look at her direction. _'Dude... Dude... DUDE... Thank goodness it's not a mess in here... Should I wake her up? Of course not, idiot, she'd be embarrassed. I better leave. NOW.'_

A cool breeze brushed against the boy's skin, and he realized that the window was slightly open. A little irresolute, he took a small blanket from his bed and walked towards Max. _'If I cover her up with this she'll realize that I caught her here… but that would be kind of expected, right? And it's getting really cold in here…'_ He quickly glanced at her face and that was enough to make him blush. The pile of books next to her made him smile in satisfaction.

A couple seconds later he came to himself. _'I better get out before she wakes up and think I'm a perv or something.'_ Then, like a kid playing ring-and-run, he practically throwed the blanket over her body and rushed through the door.

...

It was around 9 p.m. when Max went downstairs and met the Grahams. Warren and his 6 years old sister Emily were sitting on the living room's floor, around a center table. Apparently, he was helping the child with her homework.

Warren acknowledged Max approaching and greeted her cheerfully. "Hey Max, come meet Emmy!"

His voice and gaze made her turn red. _'Well done Max, you should become a meme like Bad Luck Brian – "sneak into male friend's room: crashes on his couch".'_ She wanted to apologize, but not in front of his sister, so she decided to act like nothing unusual happened.

"Oh, hi Emily! Nice to meet you!"

"Hi…" The little girl replied, smiling shyly. "Ren said you take beautiful pictures… He said your pictures are like my paintings."

The cute little girl's speech softened Max's mood and made her smile. "Really? Do you like photography? Wanna see my camera?"

Emily nodded enthusiastically, which caused Warren to give her a slightly reproachful look: on the way from school to home, he had explained his sister that they would host a friend of him that night; that this friend had a hard day and was very sad and tired, so he would need his sister to behave and be kind. "Max, don't bother yourself about it… Emmy, Max can show you her camera some other day…"

Max chuckled. "It's ok, Warren, really! I remember how fascinated I was the first time I saw an instant camera!"

A couple minutes later, Max's camera was on Emily's hands.

"Be careful…" Warren cautioned the girl, fearing she would drop Max's "precious".

The camera intrigued Emily. "It's so different than our camera… How does it work?"

"Excuse me, I'll show you." Max took the camera from the girl's hands. "Say cheese!"

The view of the photo being instantly printed mesmerized the child. She took a while studying the picture and then handed it back to Max.

"You can keep it, it's a gift from me!" Max said to the girl, who gave her a wide smile.

Looking at the picture, Warren affably spoke to his sister: "That was really nice of Max, don't you think Emmy? Why don't you thank her with one of your beautiful paintings?"

"Good idea!" The child took a small watercolor set from her backpack and started to happily draw and paint.

A few minutes later, she handed her work to Max. "It's done!"

Max picked the watercolor and couldn't help dropping a tear when she saw it. The little girl had drawn lots of multicolored butterflies around a big blue one at the center of the paper sheet.

Concerned, Warren asked his friend if she was okay. She nodded yes and asked the child: "Emily, how did you know I love butterflies?"

"Everybody loves butterflies, they're beautiful!" Emily answered, sprightly.

"What made you paint the bigger one blue?" Warren asked, knowing his sister always had a cute explanation for the colors she chose.

"Her eyes!" The child answered, pointing to Max's face.

Warren looked at Max and almost by accident their eyes locked for a second. Both blushed and looked away. "O-of course, how didn't I realize that…" He said, while rubbing his neck.

At this exact moment, Amber Graham entered the room. "Hi Max, how are you doing? Any headaches? Did you get some sleep? I'm sorry if the mattress is a bit too hard, I bought it because elderly people like my parents and in-laws usually prefer it that way!"

Recollecting that she actually slept on Warren's bench, Max tried to answer Amber's questions as naturally as possible. "I'm feeling fine… I uh… even got to sleep for some hours… Your house is adorable, thank you for everything!"

Amber grinned kindly. "You're welcome! You must be hungry… I'm serving dinner now!"

Everybody helped the mother to set dinner on the center table. They were used to have some meals there, sitting on cushions on the floor, like a japanese family. Max found it odd, but very cozy at the same time.

While eating the delicious _spaghetti alla carbonara_ Amber had cooked, they chatted about light topics like TV shows and Emily's artistic skills. Sharing that family moment with the Grahams, rather than trivial, was a nurturing and nostalgic experience for Max. It reminded her of the good old days at the Prices', when she and Chloe's biggest challenge was choosing between pancakes and bacon omelette for breakfast. _'These good memories are really a gift, like Joyce said…yet painful right now.'_

After they finished the meal, Amber excused herself to check Emily's homework at her bedroom and assured Max she could call her if she needed anything. Mother and daughter said good night and went upstairs.

Warren cleared the table and told Max to make herself at home and get some rest, but she preferred to offer help with the dish-washing. She followed him to the kitchen and grabbed a dishcloth to dry the dishes he washed.

Sharing the task helped them feeling more relaxed around each other. Max started a conversation:

"Your mother is amazing! When things get calmer I want to give her a gift. I'll ask you for tips."

"That's very nice of you!"

"And Emily is so cute! She seems to be so attached to you, you must miss her a lot."

"I really do! You probably asked yourself why I stay at a dorm if I live here at Arcadia Bay… Well it's mostly because of her. I mean, I don't know to which college am I going after Blackwell, but it might somewhere far from here, like New York or Massachusetts… So my parents and I agreed that this way Emily would gradually get used to my absence."

"I see… That's really thoughtful of yours. I mean, with your 4.0 GPA you certainly will be admitted by MIT…

"Jeez, did I really mention you my GPA score? How conceited of me, sorry."

Realizing she only knew that because she saw his student record at Principal Wells' office in the alternate timeline, Max quickly tried to fix her mistake:

"Uh… no, you never mentioned it. It's just that… you know, you're smart, and you take your studies really seriously… so I kind of guessed it."

"Oh, thanks! That's much better, I was about to think that I have amnesia!"

"Anyway, don't you dare to ask about my GPA!" Max said, playfully.

"Nah, your talent cannot be quantified by any stupid grading system."

Warren's statement made Max's cheeks flush. She was still thinking of words to say to him when he announced that their job was done and headed back to the living room.

They climbed up the stairs and walked through the corridor, standing in front of their respective bedrooms' doors.

"Oh Max, I almost forgot to ask you. Did you get to talk to your parents again?"

"Yes, they transferred their tickets to an earlier flight but they'll only arrive here tomorrow in the afternoon."

"Did they mention about next week? I mean, a few hours ago my father called and told me that Blackwell made contact to notify him that classes are suspended for the whole next week."

Max's mind spaced out, as she started to wonder if the school and the police already knew about Jefferson. _'I hope so… But what if they don't?'_

Max's attention was drawn back by Warren's voice calling her name. "I'm sorry, Max, I shouldn't've brought this subject now… I just wanted to let you know that you can stay at Seattle for the whole next week if you want…" He said, sheepishly.

"Huh? Oh, it's good you told me that. I guess it'll be better for me spending some days away from Blackwell…"

"Max… If you need to talk or anything, I'll be right here…"

"Thanks, Warren! Good night…"

"Good night…"

…..

In the guest room, Max sat on the bed and embraced her knees.

 _'_ _Tomorrow is going to be the hardest day of my life. It'll be worse than the day William died… And I'm sure it'll be worse than today. I don't know if I can stand seeing Chloe in a coffin… after all we went through this week.'_

 _'_ _And Joyce… How am I going to face Joyce tomorrow? In this timeline, I last saw her five years ago, right after William's death. It's so painful to think how careless I was with her family… I wonder what's going to be her reaction when she sees me at the funeral. It'll be totally understandable if she gets mad at me. I'm scared…'_

 _'_ _The worst part is that I can't even deny to myself that right now I once more feel like running away to Seattle and never coming back… I'm such a coward.'_

Dwelling on those thoughts for almost one hour made her feel more and more hopeless. She picked her now fully charged cell phone and texted Warren:

 **Max:** are u still up? [10/07 11:13 p.m.]

 **Warren:** of course, I'm a night owl! [10/07 11:13 p.m.]

 **Max:** can we talk? [10/07 11:14 p.m.]

 **Warren:** I'm all ears [10/07 11:14 p.m.]

 **Max:** ok, I'll be at your door in… 2 secs [10/07 11:14 p.m.]

….

Warren opened his bedroom door and let Max in. He was wearing light grey sweatpants and a blue hoodie; his hair was wet and neatly combed.

Max's apparent restlessness worried him, but before he could say anything she started to speak:

"I… uh… How do I put this… I don't want to go into details. It's just that… as I told you before, the girl in the bathroom was my best friend, but… I didn't see her for five years. B-because… I flaked on her right after her father died… What a lame friend I am, huh?" She wiped a few tears from her eyes as she talked.

Warren stepped closer to Max and put one hand on her shoulder. As if he could read her mind, he asked: "Max, do you want me to go to the funeral with you?"

"Would you mind? I'd go with my parents if they were here… I'll totally understand if you don't want to…"

"Max, I was going to ask you anyway. We're friends, you don't have to go through all of this alone. Do you mind if I call Kate tomorrow morning? I think she'd like to join us."

"Yes, please do that. Thanks again Warren, it means a lot to me."

"Anytime."

"There's a second thing I wanted to say… I owe you apologize." Max turned her look to the floor, feeling embarrassed.

Surprised, Warren asked. "Apologize? For what?"

"Well, uh… You obviously noticed that this afternoon I uh… sneaked into your bedroom. I just wanted to borrow a book, but ended up losing track of time. I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Max. Actually I'm the one who should apologize, I should've let the door open so you could borrow anything you wanted." He chuckled: "I'm just glad that it was not a mess in here… Although… Albeit tidy you probably found my room a bit too dorky…"

Max gave him a light smile. "Of course not, I think it's super-cool, in fact that's why I lost track of time here… I feel like I'm at a… some sort of norwegian geek guy bedroom. If you know what I mean."

Warren scratched his head, trying to restrain a wide smile. "Not really… Why norwegian?"

Max chuckled. "Oh, so maybe it's the first time I know something you don't! Whenever you have time, look for "scandinavian design" at google. I think you'll like it."

"Always time to learn something new! In fact, there are lots of things that you know and I don't, such as Hamilton photography and bands like Syd Matters, for instance…"

Max raised an eyebrow: "Oh, so you've been to my dorm room?"

Visibly embarrassed, Warren replied. "Uuh… Y-yes… But it was for a really short moment, and only because Kate insisted."

Max smiled. "It's ok, I guess we can call it even then? What did you think of it?"

Warren smiled back in relief. "I found it awesome… You have your own style. That photo wall was one of the coolest things I've ever seen."

She blushed a little. "Thanks! I'm still decorating it…"

After a brief moment of awkward silence, he looked at the bench, the pile of books Max picked was still there. "Hey, you chose some of my favorite graphic novels… You can take them with you to Seattle, if you want."

"Really? Those ones seem pretty cool, I'll take your offer! I should go to my room now, I don't want to ruin your plans for tonight. What are you gonna play? World of Warcraft, as usual?"

"You never ruin anything… Anyway, no games tonight. Sky is pretty clear so I was setting up my telescope to see Saturn."

"Saturn... You can really see Saturn through this?"

"Yeah... It's not Hubble but it's not bad at all. Wanna take a look?

"Sure." _'It's so cute when he gets fully absorbed by his science stuff.'_ Max thought, while Warren opened the window.

Max looked through the telescope lens and saw a small but clear image of the planet. "Cool… I can even see some of its moons!"

Warren was on the computer, using the telescope software to search for sky objects. "Take a look, I think you're gonna appreciate this one."

"Wowser! What is this?"

Warren answered: "It's the Crab Nebula."

Interested, Max asked. "This is fun! So you just type in there and it searches the planets for you?"

"Basically yeah. Wanna try?"

Max switched places with Warren and searched for some objects he suggested, such as the Swan Nebula and the Pinwheel Galaxy.

Meanwhile, Warren picked his cell phone and leaned back on his bed. "I'll search for more objects on an app I've just downloaded."

As Max saw planets, stars, nebulas and galaxies through the telescope, she thought about the universe's grandiosity and infinitude, which for some reason she couldn't explain made her feel more and more calm.

Suddenly, she spotted something different. "Warren, I think I just saw a shooting star!"

As he didn't say anything, she turned the computer chair to his bed. "Warren?" He had fallen asleep.

Max got up from the chair and closed the window. _'Poor Warren, this day was quite tiresome for him too.'_

She stood beside his bed and watched him sleep. His outward peacefulness made Max recall Kate's words during the hospital visit she paid her in the other timeline: _'Even angels need angels, Max…'_

Carefully, Max pulled the bed cover over him. The idea of kissing him in the forehead crossed her mind for a second, but she quickly dismissed it.

Whispering, she said: " _Thanks for being here_." Then, she left the room.

…..

In the guest room, Max laid in bed and closed her eyes.

A thought came back to her: _'Tomorrow is going to be the hardest day of my life…'_

This time, however, she felt her mind much more stable. _'… but I think I can face it. I need to.'_

At this point, the will of fleeing to Seattle without looking back had completely vanished from her mind and heart: in a non-rational way, Max knew that this time she had more than one reason to come back to Arcadia Bay.

In a matter of minutes, she fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5 - Farewells

October 8th, 9 a.m.

 _'_ _Too bad dad didn't arrive yet'_ Warren thought as he searched for " _easy necktie knot_ " at . That was probably only the third or fourth time he wore a suit - the other occasions were weddings and graduations of some of his cousins – and in all of those times his father had tied the tie for him.

He sat to watch the best reviewed video, trying to follow the tutorial steps. His mind, however, wasn't on the task at hand; instead, it was on last night.

 _'_ _Being so close and connected to Max felt so good and so… right. Ugh, I am probably the worst person in the world for thinking this, given the circumstances...'_

The boy sighed. _'Well, at least I think I managed to not say anything stupid to her this time…'_

Realizing that the video finished and he didn't pay attention to it at all, Warren started to rewatch it. _'In fact, she seemed… different with me last night. Like she knew me for a long time so she could fully trust on me… Yeah, that was really nice… And sometimes even looked like she was… worked up around me, maybe?'_

When the video ended again, Warren looked down: his tie was a mess. "What the… I'm more intelligent than that!" He mumbled to himself as he pressed "replay" once more.

 _'_ _Get real! Of course Max is acting different, she witnessed her best friend being murdered. Stop deluding yourself and focus on urgent things… Like tying this goddamn tie for example!'_ As soon as he finished his mental argument, he pulled the knot so tight it made him gasp a little.

He looked himself in a mirror: it was not perfect, but it was presentable enough.

….

Warren and Max left in his car and picked up Kate at the convent where she had spent the night. As soon as the three students arrived at the Arcadia Bay Cemetery, Max asked her friends for a moment alone and walked toward a bench next to a cliff.

The view from there, very similar to the one from the lighthouse, immediately brought the girl painful memories of her last conversation with Chloe. Fearing she would lose control, she swallowed the tears that threatened to come and moved towards the others.

Max positioned herself between Warren and Joyce. Although she was ashamed of not making contact for the last five years, she wanted her friend's mother to know that at least one person that truly cared for Chloe was there to offer support. Noticing that Warren glanced at her every other minute to check how she was doing, Max took a small step closer to him.

During the priest's speech, Max's mind started to wander through the countless events she had witnessed in all the timelines she visited over the last few days. It felt so surreal in comparison with the concrete reality of Chloe's casket before her eyes that she started to doubt that that week actually happened. _'Considering I was taken to a hospital after the shot… Maybe they gave me some strong drug that made me hallucinate… Yeah, that's quite likely... and sad.'_

The girl was still on that train of thought when a gorgeous blue butterfly casually landed on the coffin. As she stared at it, she could almost hear Chloe's voice teasing her: _'Already breaking your promise of never forgetting me, hippie? That insane week hella happened, don't you dare to doubt it!'_

Feeling embraced by Chloe's presence, Max smiled and mentally reinforced her commitment to her friend. _'I will always be with you too, Chloe, and I will do everything I can to bring justice for you and Rachel.'_

As soon as the priest finished his speech, Principal Wells and the students surrounded Joyce and David to offer condolences. Since Max didn't know how Joyce would react when she spoke to her, she decided to let the others talk to the couple first. Meanwhile, in her head, she tried to rehearse apologies and meaningful words to say.

It was useless: all prepared words fled from Max's mind when she saw Joyce opening her arms and looking at her in the same motherly way she always did; all she could do now was hugging and crying.

"I-I'm so sorry, Joyce, for Chloe, for everything… I'll never forgive myself for not keeping in touch with you and her for all these years… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" Max cried, her words muffled against Joyce's chest.

Joyce gently caressed the girl's hair, placing a kiss on her head. "Max, I felt so comforted when I saw you here… I'm sure wherever Chloe is now, she's happy that you came. Don't blame yourself for anything, five years ago you were only a kid… You still are one… And great friends like you two were stay forever, beyond distance… and time."

"T-thanks, Joyce, you're amazing… I'd like to pay you a visit someday." Max said, still sobbing, as they pulled away from the hug.

Joyce replied affectionately. "You're always welcome! You're like a daughter to me…"

David approached them and put a hand on Joyce's shoulder. Max offered her condolences to him and said goodbye to them.

As the girl watched the couple leaving the cemetery, Warren and Kate came closer and asked if she wanted to have lunch with the other students at Two Whales diner, or if she preferred to go somewhere else. She chose the first option.

….

After having lunch and leaving Kate at her aunt, Max and Warren went back to his house. It was quiet there: Emily was taking a nap and Amber was reading a book in her bedroom.

Concerned about Max, Warren suggested: "You must be tired… Why don't you take some rest before your parents arrive?"

"I'm okay… And it's very likely that I'll sleep the whole way to Seattle" Max replied, as she absently looked through the patio glass door.

The backyard seemed fresh and welcoming; remembering that Seattle was usually noisy and cloudy, Max invited Warren to sit outside for a moment.

He opened the door and she stepped closer to a double swing next to a lovely lily garden; for a moment, she raised her face to the sun and closed her eyes, letting its warmth wash over her.

The weather was gorgeous that day: it was sunny and warm, the sky clear with no sign of clouds. In fact, the weather was so perfect that in itself helped Max to feel more reassured about her decision.

Still affected by that comforting sensation, she sat on one of the swings; her thoughts were now on Joyce and on the classmates she had just met at Two Whales. Seeing all of them safe and full of life made her happy. _'Chloe would never overcome the guilt of letting her mother and so many other people die… Neither would I… Even so… that doesn't change the fact that I miss her so much.'_

After a few instants observing Max, Warren sat on the other swing, submerged in his thoughts. Although he - as well as Max - was an introverted person, remaining quiet before a difficult situation has always been a challenge for him, since he was the kind of person who loved to solve problems.

He was desperately trying to find what would be appropriate to say to Max when she interrupted his inner battle: "There was a swing like this at Chloe's backyard… We could spend hours just swinging and blabbering…"

The nostalgia and melancholy in her voice made him realize that there was no "solution" for her problem. _'Maybe I should just listen instead of speaking…'_

Still a little irresolute about his insight, the boy asked: "Max… do you feel like talking about Chloe? I'm here for you, if you want to…"

Max got out of the swing and walked a few steps ahead. _'Should I tell him about the whole time travel thing now? He believed me in the other timeline…'_

She saw what time it was on her cell phone. _'No, I need more time to work this out… and my parents will be here soon. Anyway, if I stop to think, all I've been doing since yesterday is holding back my emotions about everything that happened… I need to vent a bit…'_

Max grabbed her doe pendant, pressing it against her chest, and started to speak. "Chloe and I met at elementary school, when I was 9. She had failed the prior year, so she was 10…"

"We were both outsiders, but in different ways: I had no friends because I was some sort of quiet insecure weirdo; Chloe didn't have friends because she was, you know, a mischievous repeating student."

"Our friendship officially started when we did a school art project together. We didn't pick each other… The teacher had to pair us up, since we weren't chosen by any of the other kids…"

Warren smiled, remarking "Been there, done that!" She glanced at him, her lips slightly curling into a smile.

Max continued to speak, telling her friend some stories about the time she and Chloe played pirates at their homes or in the woods. For her surprise, talking about Chloe at that moment brought her peace instead of sorrow.

It was like that until she mentioned William's death; she stopped talking and spaced out, remembering that in the alternate timeline in which he was alive, she didn't make contact with Chloe for five years as well. _'Not even my power was able to bring back those years…'_

The sensation that time slipped away like sand through her fingers felt overwhelming; this time, however, she didn't hold the tears back and started crying.

Warren got out of the swing and approached Max; he had no idea of what he should do or say. Feeling guilty for indirectly triggering her bad memories, he placed a hand on her shoulder and said: "I'm sorry Max, I feel really stupid for encouraging you to talk about her…"

Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest; tears were still coming down her cheeks. "You're never stupid, I feel lucky to have you as a friend. Don't be sorry, I need to cope with that…"

Warren froze, surprised by the sudden hug. A little hesitantly, he hugged her back – he barely breathed, as though he were afraid of scaring her away. "Yeah, but take it easy on yourself" He said smoothly, almost whispering against her hair.

His heartbeat and warmth made her feel better; everything she went through that week made her turn into a hug enthusiast.

They stood like that for a while, until Warren asked: "Max, may I tell you something?"

His question startled her. _'Oh my God, is he going to confess his feelings? What do I do?'_ She thought, as she pulled away from the hug. "S-sure" she answered, feeling her cheeks growing warm.

Warren started to speak, rubbing his neck. "I was waiting for the right moment to tell you this…"

She felt the tension building up in her body. _'Should I cut him off again, like I did after the kiss in the other timeline? I can't do that… He has been such a sweetheart in every timelines I've been to… I guess he deserves to be listened to.'_

He continued: "Feel free to tell me to shut up…"

 _'_ _Coming to think of it, it's nice to have someone caring about you…'_ "It's okay, Warren… Go on."

"I uh… saw Chloe a few times through the last years, at Two Whales. She always seemed pretty cool."

"Oh!" Max exclaimed, surprised. "That's it?"

"Bad timing, I guess? Sorry again."

"Yeah… I mean, no, not at all… It's just that you sounded like you're going to tell me something serious, like uh… something about Nathan."

Warren clenched his fists. "Ugh, just thinking about that dude pisses me off. You have no idea how I'd like to punch him in the face."

"I can totally picture it… For real. So, did you and Chloe ever talked?"

"Nah, you know, she was older, cool… and she had that punk attitude… Don't laugh, but she kinda intimidated me. When I was younger, of course."

Max couldn't hold her laughter. "Sorry! Well I don't blame you, she wasn't the easiest person to deal with! But… once you got to know her, she was just someone wanting to love and be loved…"

"Just like anyone else…" He added.

She looked away from him, feeling her cheeks flushing again. ' _That's ridiculous, he didn't say anything embarrassing.'_ The moment she said "yeah" in agreement with him, she felt her cell phone vibrating.

 **Mom** : Hi honey, we just arrived at Arcadia Bay. We're now going to Joyce's to pay our respects. It won't take long, so get ready. XO [10/08 1:48 p.m.]

"My parents will be here soon, I better get my stuff upstairs."

….

Twenty minutes later, Max's parents were at Warren's house. He and his mother welcomed the couple, who kindly showed their gratitude by thanking and presenting them with some homemade cookies.

Already outside of the house, Vanessa and Ryan Caulfield talked to Amber Graham, remarking how glad they were to know Max have made such a good friend at school.

Meanwhile, Warren and Max walked a few steps away from them. He leaned against a tree and said: "Apart from the circumstances, it was really nice having you here. I hope you come back for a visit someday… Emily and my mom really liked you, and you didn't get to know my old man."

Max smiled at him. "I sure will. Warren, I have no words to express how thankful I am and how awesome you and your family were…" She leaned in and hugged him briefly, which made him feel his heart skip a beat for a second.

As soon as they pulled away, he took his flash drive from his pocket. "Oh, I was almost forgetting… I replaced some movies on it for others more… cheerful, I guess. Take a look when you have time!"

She thanked him and put the flash drive inside her bag. When she noticed their parents were saying goodbye to each other, she approached them to thank Amber, giving her a hug.

A few instants later, the Caulfields were in their car, ready to leave to Seattle. As Max waved at Amber and Warren, she caught herself feeling something she couldn't define; the only thing she knew was that it sure wasn't relief for going home.

….

Right after the Caufields left, Amber wrapped one arm over her son's shoulder and spoke to him a bit teasingly: "I found her cute and adorable too!" Warren blushed, useless trying to convince his mother that he and that girl were only friends.

He finally admitted: "Okay, so we _are_ just friends, _but_ I may have a tiny crush on her… What do you think I should do?"

"Just be yourself… I know it sounds tacky, but it's true. Besides that, mind that she went through a really traumatic experience… So of course she'll need support, but she'll also need space to work things out and to grieve…"

After carefully listening to his mother words, Warren went to his bedroom and sat on the bench where hours ago he caught Max sleeping; his favorite place in the house suddenly felt empty and boring. It has been less than twenty minutes since Max left and he was already missing her; moreover, he knew he never felt like that before.

Warren was fully aware of his crush on Max since he didn't know when; he always found her cute and smart after all. He knew, however, that since the day before, something was different in him; something undefinable, at least for the time being.

 _'_ _Be myself, give support and space… Should be easy I guess…'_


	6. Chapter 6 - Seattle blues

**October 9th, 12:11 p.m.**

Max opened her eyes but didn't move; she was in that in-between state of being half asleep and half awake. As she slowly regained consciousness, fleeting snatches of dreams with Chloe, Nathan, Rachel and Jefferson swirled in her mind. The girl tried to remember the scenes for a while, but it seemed that the more effort she put into it, the faster it fled from her.

' _Maybe it's just better this way',_ Max thought as she automatically picked her instant camera from the bedstand to take one of her usual morning selfies. Once she got aware of her action, she put the camera away and facepalmed herself.

With some difficulty, the girl sat on the bed, but it was only when she got up and stretched her arms and legs that she noticed how sore her body felt. Nothing beyond expected, considering how hard her night was.

She looked herself in a mirror, frowning at the reflection of her weary countenance. Luckily, before any self-deprecating thought arose in her mind, her attention was drawn to a knock at her door.

It was her mother, Vanessa: she entered the room to check on her daughter and to tell lunch was almost ready. Shortly thereafter, Max took a quick shower and went downstairs to join her parents at the family's kitchen.

….

The smell of steak and bacon sizzling in a pan filled Max's nostrils and made her stomach growl. Once she got in the kitchen, she saw her father, Ryan, by the stove, cooking lunch, as it was usual on sundays.

She hugged him from behind and asked with a hopeful voice: "Is that what I think it is?"

Playfully, he answered: "Yes, my favorite daughter's favorite dish!"

Max chuckled and approached her mother, hugging her as well. Vanessa placed a kiss on her daughter's cheek and gave her a small chunk of the _camembert_ cheese she chopped for salad.

A few minutes later, lunch was ready.

….

During the meal, Max's parents sought to talk about light topics, such as the couple's recent trip to New York. Different than many would think, it's not that they were dodging Chloe's death subject; it's just that they knew their daughter well enough to understand she needed time to work things out by herself before speaking up with them.

After lunch, as it was traditional in the Caulfield family, each one dedicated some time to their hobbies. Ryan, an audio engineer, usually spent the afternoon composing music on an electronic piano at his home studio. Max often joined him, playing either the guitar or the bass; that day though, as predictable, she wasn't on the mood for a jam session, so she stayed at the living room with her mother.

Vanessa, a homeopathic practitioner, was fond of gardening and all sorts of handcrafting, especially sewing and embroidery. Although Max wasn't as skilled as her, for many times she joined her mother, even if it was only to choose themes and colors.

The girl laid on the couch, placing her feet on her mother's lap while she hand-sewed a tea-cloth. She turned her face to the TV, but didn't mind watching the movie on it; instead, she let herself ruminate about her time travelling power for a while. The more she thought about it, however, the more confused she felt.

For a few times, words almost came out of her mouth, but she restrained herself: she knew that behind her mother's seeming serenity was a deep concern about her situation. _'If I tell mom about my power, she'll think it's a coping mechanism I've created to deal with Chloe's loss… and that'll only make her more worried about me. Besides… I don't even know if I still have the power, since I didn't try to use it anymore...'_ Max pondered, deciding to not tell her parents about her ability - at least not for now.

….

Later on that afternoon, Max went back to her bedroom. Differently than she claimed to her parents, though, sleeping wasn't on her plans - she had too much on her mind to rest.

Seated on the floor with her legs crossed, the girl placed a coin on her left thigh: she wanted to check if she still was a time traveler. Her idea? Moving the coin to the right leg, and then [try to] rewind time; if it worked, the coin should go back to her left thigh.

' _Something so insignificant as that won't bring any harm, right?'_ Max tried to reassure herself as she moved the coin and raised her hand, preparing to rewind.

Before she proceeded her action, however, the memory of Warren's words during the storm reverberated in her mind. _'For every action, there's a reaction… whenever you reversed or altered time… maybe you caused a chain reaction… even in the environment.'_

The girl immediately put her hand down. _'I better not play with this. Besides, there are more important issues to deal with now.'_

She went to her computer and opened the The Arcadia Bay Beacon website. There were a few reports about the crime, but only Nathan's name was mentioned. Nothing about Jefferson.

Max also accessed many sites of newspapers and magazines from Oregon, but she found only small notes about the murder; nothing about the psycho teacher. Letting out a sigh of disappointment, she tried to comfort herself. _'Well it's sunday, hopefully tomorrow his face will be on the cover of many newspapers.'_

 **October 10th, 12:05 p.m.**

Max woke up to the sound of her cell phone ringing; the expectation for news about Jefferson's arrest made her jump off the bed, but it was just her father calling to check on her; he was worried about letting his only daughter home alone while he and his wife were at work.

After reassuring him she was okay and hanging up, Max checked her phone again: no missed phone calls, no messages. Not even Warren had texted her - his last message was on saturday, just to check if she arrived well at Seattle.

She rushed to her computer to read the newspapers: absolutely nothing new. _'What the hell is going on? I thought Nathan would snitch Jefferson out…'_

The sensation that she was passively witnessing injustice outraged her. _'No pun intended, but I feel so… powerless. My power is useless. What's the point of being able to reverse time if I can't change anything? Should I just sit and wait for whatever?'_

' _If I stop to think, my ability didn't make much difference when I saved Kate. Of course I kinda stopped time to get on the roof, but what really made me able to prevent her suicide attempt was the little attention I paid her before… I don't even want to think what she would have done if I mentioned her mother instead of her father at that moment…'_

The girl didn't dwell on that for long; although she could hardly notice, her power already caused subtle changes in her personality, making her more assertive and confident. Thereby, her indignation soon turned into determination, so that, without thinking much, she pressed Kate's number on the phone. _'I guess it's time to face present and future… just like any other person.'._

… _._

"Hi Max! I've been thinking so much about you… I'm glad you called!" Kate's voice sounded worried but hopeful.

"Same here! Just wanted to check on you." Max replied friendly.

"I've been dealing with an embarrassing issue lately… But I don't want to bother you with it. Anyway, I saw a psychologist today, and I already feel much better. I need to find one in Arcadia Bay to keep the therapy going."

"Kate, you never bother me. Anytime you need to talk, I'll be here for you. I'm really glad you started therapy, I think it'll do great for you."

"I'm here for you too, Max! How've you been doing?"

"I'll get better with time… Maybe I should try some therapy too, who knows…"

After a few more minutes chatting, they said goodbye, with plans of talking again later on the week and of having tea when the classes returned.

Talking to Kate made Max feel refreshed and resolved to do whatever she could to protect her. _'Victoria needs to be protected too… As far as it depends on me, that empty folder at the Dark Room will never be filled with sick pictures of her…'_

….

Max spent the rest of the afternoon searching for everything she could about Mark Jefferson on the web. Unfortunately, she didn't find anything suspect, which made her feel even more creeped out by him.

After dinner, the girl watched some TV with her parents. By 11:00 p.m., they were off to their respective bedrooms.

Since Max had woken up after noon, she wasn't sleepy at all. Feeling slightly bored, she sat on her bed, leaning against the wall, while checking her cell phone once more: nothing new.

"It's been more than 48 hours since Warren's last message… I wonder if he's trying to establish a new personal record…" The seeming disdainful tone of her words could make anyone believe that the mentioned guy annoyed her; deep inside though, she knew how much she was struggling to admit the simple fact that she actually missed him 'blowing up" her phone.

Scrolling up the many unanswered messages he sent to her, she realized how nonchalantly she treated the first - and maybe only - friend she made at Blackwell. _'No wonder I didn't manage to make any real friends here in 5 years… Kristen and Fernando were nice, but they were more like acquaintances.'_

She placed the phone on the bed, right in front of her. As she stared at it, her mind got into some sort of decision-making trance:

' _It's almost midnight, too late to call or to send messages…'_

' _But he refers to himself as a night owl, so he probably is still up…'_

' _Yeah but it doesn't matter, it's still not polite.'_

' _But what if he didn't make contact because... he's sick?'_

What if, what if, what if…

….

Warren let go of the gamepad and grabbed the glass of water next to his computer. When he put it to his lips, he realized it was empty. For a second he considered just ignoring it and keep playing the game, but his dry throat made him change his mind.

The boy took the headset off and stretched his body, which made his legs cramp: not surprising, considering how many hours he had been sitting there.

Apart from his house tasks and some moments of family interaction, playing games on the PC was basically what he did since Max left.

Warren was a mess: he had been wearing pj's for the last two days and the lack of enough sleep made dark circles appear around his eyes. Although he was a serious gamer, he knew this time he went a bit too far.

He didn't know any better though: burying his head in games was the only way he found to distract his mind and resist texting Max. For a few times he typed messages for her on the phone; however, fearing she might think he didn't respect her grief, he deleted all of them before sending.

He was about to leave his bedroom to refill the glass with water when he heard his phone ringing. Thinking it was an alarm he forgot to unable, he didn't rush to answer it. The moment he saw Max's name and picture flashing across the screen, though, his heart wrenched in a mixture of joy and concern.

Clumsily, the boy grabbed the phone and threw his body on the bed, taking a deep breath before answering the call, in order to sound as natural as possible:

"Yo Max, what's up?"

 _'Damn, "what's up?" So many better ways of greeting a mourning person...'_

"I mean... How are you Max? Are you okay? No, of course you're not... I'm sorry."

 _'Seriously, just shut up man...'_

"Hey Warren... Thanks for asking. You're right, I'm not okay, but I'm managing."

"Good."

 _'... What do I say now?'_

"I'm sorry for calling so late... I uh... was just wondering what people there have been commenting about the crime?"

Feeling a little more confident, he answered: "It's okay, I don't even know what time it is! Uh, well, as far as I know people are shocked but not really surprised about Nathan... Seems he was always in trouble... I'm glad he got busted right outside of the bathroom. Do you feel comfortable talking about that?"

"Yeah, not really... So, there's nothing new about the case?"

"Not that I know."

"So, uh, how is your family? Did your dad come back already?

"Yes, he arrived on sunday. Mom will be glad when I tell you called. Oh, and Emily scolded me for not waking her up to say goodbye to you!"

"She's adorable, I want to give her a gift when I come back!"

"Don't bother yourself! No wait, this is my only chance of her forgiving me, so please get the gift!"

They both laughed. "I'm just kidding!" Warren added, to avoid any misinterpretation.

Playfully, Max replied: "I know! What about you... What have you been doing lately?"

"Oh... I uh… basically played the whole time..."

"Wow. Let me guess...World of Warcraft?"

"No, I played some indie games I bought on Steam a couple months ago. Some of them are very good."

"Cool, which one did you like better so far?"

"Gone Home. I think you'd like it."

' _Damn, why I had to mention the saddest one?'_

"Oh, I started playing this game on the week before I went to Blackwell, but with the whole moving out thing I didn't have time to finish it. Maybe I'll play it again sometime.

' _Phew!'_ "S-sure, but I think maybe you should wait a little, because, you know, it's kinda gloomy."

"Yeah, you can tell from the beginning. Hey, I never imagined you were fond of indie games, may I recommend some for you?".

"Of course!"

Few people knew [probably none], but that topic was such a big thrill for her, so she practically lectured her friend.

Some minutes later, though, she realized Warren wasn't speaking much, which, when it comes to him, seemed a little odd. With a slightly concerned voice, she called his name: "Warren? Are you there?"

Although he didn't respond, she could hear his breath; everything indicated that he had fallen asleep. She hung up the phone and laid in bed; when sleep finally claimed her, she still had a smile on her lips.

 **October 11th, 09:58 a.m.**

Max got up feeling a slight sense of pride: since she got to Seattle, it was the first time that she woke up before noon.

She was in the middle of her daily pursue for information about Mark Jefferson over the internet when she heard her cell phone vibrating.

 **Warren** : Max, I'm sorry for last night. I'm really embarrassed. Don't know how did it happen. [10/11 10:37 a.m.]

The girl typed "it's ok", but soon erased it when a pun about Stephen King's The Shining came to her mind:

 **Max** : I guess all play and no work makes Warren a… dozy boy? [10/11 10:38 a.m.]

 **Warren** : (・_・;) [10/11 10:38 a.m.]

 **Max** : don't worry, it happens to all guys :‑p [10/11 10:39 a.m.]

 **Max** : just kidding, I'm the one who should apologize for calling so late. [10/11 10:39 a.m.]

 **Warren** : you're welcome to call anytime. : ) plus, now that you reminded me of The Shining I won't be able to sleep anyway ( ﾟﾛﾟ) [10/11 10:40 a.m.]

 **Max** : yeah right, there are much scarier movies on your flash drive [10/11 10:41 a.m.]

 **Warren** : speaking of, did you check the new stuff on it? [10/11 10:42 a.m.]

 **Max** : no but I think I will this afternoon. Any special recommendation? [10/11 10:42 a.m.]

 **Warren** : *scratches head* In one word, what kind of thing you'd like to watch? [10/11 10:43 a.m.]

 **Max** : I'll give you 3 words: happy-go-lucky [10/11 10:43 a.m]

 **Warren** : hold on, still thinking [10:47 a.m.]

 **Max** : take it easy, I can see the smoke from here [10:47 a.m.]

 **Warren** : ok, I'd go for Lovely Complex. Anime, 24 eps, will keep you entertained for a good amount of time. [10:49 a.m.]

 **Max** : thx! I'll check it after lunch. TTYL [10/11 10:50 a.m.]

 **Warren** : (^ ^)/ [10/11 10:51 a.m.]

….

The afternoon passed quickly and pleasantly as Max binge-watched the anime Warren suggested. After dinner, however, despite of her parents efforts to keep her spirits up, she couldn't help worrying again about the apparent impunity of her criminal teacher.

 _'This is so frustrating... I'm sure Warren would immediately call me if Jefferson was arrested, but I'm contacting him anyway... Any information is vital.'_

He answered the phone with his usual cheerfulness: "Hi Max! So, did you watch Lovely Complex's first episode?"

"The first nine episodes to be more exactly!" She answered, thrilled.

"Whoa, seems that you liked it!"

"I'm loving it, really, I think I'm dying of kawaiiness. How come you didn't show me this kind of stuff before?"

"What? And let you picture me fangirling every time Otani-kun and Risa almost get together? I have a reputation to keep!", he joked.

"I wouldn't picture that, but now that you mentioned... I can't help it!"

"Me and my big mouth!"

"By the way, that Otani-kun guy is cute but it gets on my nerves how dense he is about Risa's feelings!"

"I agree, but I'm sure there are even worse cases around..."

' _My impression or he is dropping a hint?'_ She decided to tease him a bit: "You know who would agree with you? Brooke!"

Sounding genuinely surprised, Warren asked: "Brooke? Why? I'm not very good at charades."

"Oh c'mon, she's all over you!"

"Tisk, tisk, you sure have a lot of imagination.", he said in an embarrassed tone.

After an awkward silence that seemed to last forever, Max decided to change the subject to one more important for her at the moment: "Right. Anyway, what's new at Arcadia Bay?

"Let me see… Uh, nothing comes to my mind. It's _Arcadia Bay_ , you know…"

"I mean about the crime…", she clarified him, letting out a small sigh.

"Oh, as far as I know, there's nothing new…"

"Hmm, okay."

Picking up on her sudden mood swing, he tried to tranquilize her: "Hey Max… Don't worry, Nathan will certainly be sentenced to many years in prison… It'll probably take some months until his trial, but at least he's already in jail…"

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks. Uh, I'm crashing early tonight… So, good night…"

"Good night… I uh… am here if you need anything."

"I know. Thanks again, bye."

"Bye..."

 **October 12th, 5:17 a.m.**

 _Me. At Seattle. Not knowing what to do. Feeling I failed with Chloe. 2008? No, 2013. Seems that no matter how many years pass, my fate is letting Chloe down._

 _The difference between 2008 and 2013 is that now I have a "superpower". Yeah, the superpower of foreknowing certain things but not being able to do anything about them. Yay!_

 _Ok, ok. Pause on the drama… Of course I'm not here writing on my diary at 5 a.m. to simply whine about the whole situation or whatsoever... I still have dignity. And hope._

 _I know I need to do something. The big question is "what?". Sending an anonymous letter to the police already crossed my mind, but then I remember how powerful the Prescotts are… Sean Prescott could easily find a way to make the letter disappear and would probably get even more aggressive towards Nathan. Chances of backfiring are very high._

 _I could encourage Kate to talk to the police… But I really don't want to, at least not now. I don't want to expose her to danger, and I don't think she remembers anything about Jefferson and the Dark Room._

 _I'm starting to think that there's only one way out: Nathan. He MUST confess and tell the cops, prosecutor or whoever everything Jefferson did and made him do. But how?_

 _I could try visiting him in jail… But I don't think he'd receive me. Besides, everybody would find it weird, even suspicious, at the very least._

 _He certainly would receive Victoria. It would be great if I could make her convince Nathan to speak out… But that's absolutely out of question because: 1) she wouldn't believe me, and 2) she was (or is) supposed to be Jefferson's next victim, so if he knows she visited Nathan he may want to kill her._

 _Ugh, I wish I could trade my power for another one more useful, like telepathy. No wonder Xavier is the X-Men's boss…_

 _Well, I may not have a clue about what I must do, but one thing I know for sure: staying here in Seattle won't be of any help. I need to go back to Arcadia Bay ASAP._

….

Seeing Max coming downstairs to have breakfast for the first time on the week cheered Vanessa and Ryan up: five days after the crime, seemed that their daughter was finally getting back to routine.

Their relief didn't last long as Max stood in front of them and announced she wanted to go back to Arcadia Bay right away.

Her words and attitude made the couple exchange a concerned look. Feeling guilty, the father said: "You're staying too much time alone, right dear? I'm sorry, me and your mother are going to leave work earlier on the next days."

"It's not that, dad… You and mom are awesome, no matter the amount of time we spend together. It's just that… I feel Joyce needs support, and I think it'll be better for me having some time to get used to school again before classes restart."

Vanessa tried to temporize: "Max, your concern with Joyce is really admirable… But you know, sometimes all a grieving person needs is some space. It'll be much more appropriate to visit her on next week."

Ryan agreed: "Honey, your mother is right. Besides, it's very likely that none of your classmates are at the school's dorm… In fact, I don't even know if the school would allow you to come back this early."

Exasperated, Max argued: "You don't understand… I can't wait again. When Chloe's dad died I waited and waited for the best moment to talk to her, to give my support… And then… 5 years passed, and now she's dead. I'm 18 now, I think it's about time for me to take charge of my life.".

Vanessa put a hand on her daughter's shoulder: "Max, it's not your fault that you and Chloe grew apart after William died… Of course it was hard for her, but it was for you too. We were here, we know how much you suffered and cared for her. Death and mourning aren't simple issues."

The girl's father added: "Chloe's death was an unexpected and tragic loss to all of us, especially for Joyce and you. As your parents, we want to comfort you, like you want to comfort Joyce. And you will support her, but you need to be fine to do that."

Max looked at her parents feeling a mixture of joy and sorrow. Joy for having such amazingly loving parents. Sorrow for knowing that they might never know her actual reasons.

….

After a few hours thinking, Max gave up any idea of "fleeing" to Arcadia Bay. She knew that if she went there without their consent, they would come after her, and that not only could cause trouble for them at work, but could also hinder her possible actions towards Nathan and Jefferson.

Despite of her reasonable decision, deep inside she felt defeated and angry with herself. She was alone in her bedroom, seated on the floor, wanting to swear and shout at the world when her phone inconveniently rang.

When she saw Warren's picture flashing on the screen, she rolled her eyes in impatience, but decided to pick up the call anyway, since he could have news.

"Hi Warren. What's up?", she answered in a controlled voice.

Acknowledging her bad mood, he spoke sheepishly: "Hey Max... Nothing, I mean, I just wanted to check on you..."

Frustrated by his answer, she tried to finish the call as politely as possible: "I appreciate your concern... But you caught me in a bad moment. I'll call you later, okay? Bye."

Albeit a little startled by her tone, he insisted: "Wait! I uh, actually called because I wanted to ask you something."

 _'What now... Oh no, I can't believe he's going to ask me to "Go Ape" with him now. That's so insensitive, I'm afraid I'll have to turn you down this time...'_ "What is it?"

Warren spoke fast, as though he expected she would interrupt him at any moment:

"Well it's not a question actually. It's just that… yesterday, when we spoke on the phone, I noticed that you sounded a little upset after I said that there was nothing new about, you know, the crime."

"Then I remembered that you asked the same question on the day before... So I started to think: "what could possibly be new about this case?" I mean, I'm sorry for putting it this way, but Nathan was literally caught with a gun in his hands... So he sure will be sentenced to decades in prison, no matter how good and expensive his lawyer is."

"What I really want to say is that I have the feeling that you may know something more about the crime... I don't know, maybe something about the motivation, or even another person involved… Just to be clear, I'm not accusing you of anything, I'm just worried."

"But of course I can be entirely wrong. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that whatever is the case, you can count on me for any help or whatever"

"Or you can just kick me in the head if you think I'm being too nosy… I'm speaking too much, right? I'm sorry..."

"Max? Are you there?"

She was there. She listened to everything he said. She couldn't speak though: the accuracy of his reasoning left her speechless.

As Warren anxiously waited on the other end of the phone, Max was fighting herself over the idea of telling him everything. Incapable to decide so quickly, she made up a silly excuse to end the call, leaving him without any answer.

' _Damn, Warren is really perceptive… I don't think I'll be able to hide the truth from him for much longer. Maybe he could help me…'_

….

As soon as Max heard the front door opening, she ran to meet her parents.

"Good news! I just talked to my friend Warren and he said I can stay at his house until classes return!" _'He just doesn't know it yet!'_

Surprised, Vanessa spoke in a slightly reproachful way: "What? That doesn't change anything. What's going on with you? Inviting yourself to someone else's home… You've never done that before."

The girl tried to explain her [supposed] point: "You're always saying that I should cultivate my friendships… So, that's what I'm doing. Warren has been extremely supportive to me and I want to spend more time with him and his family."

"That makes me very glad, but I believe you can perfectly wait until next monday.", the mother replied, still a little astonished by her daughter's unusual behaviour.

"Mom, please...", Max pleaded in an anguished voice.

"Hey dear, I'll see if I can take the day off tomorrow, so you won't have to stay one more day alone", Ryan suggested.

The sensation that the conversation wasn't going anywhere made Max start to panic. Although she understood her parent's reasons, the fact was that she felt as trapped as Nathan. Worse than that: the real culprit, Jefferson, was free.

The thought made her muscles stiffen. Caught up in the adrenaline of the moment, she shouted at Vanessa and Ryan, barely aware of the words she was saying:

"Warren is my boyfriend!"

Instantly regretful for lying, she opened her mouth to take back her declaration, but her parents positive reaction made her change her mind.

Smiling, they hugged her, clearly relieved. It's not that they were the kind of parents who wanted their daughter to get married and give them grandchildren - it's just that they believed that her apparent "teenage drama" explained the weird behaviour she was showing that day.

Claiming she missed her boyfriend, the girl asked again to go back to the small town, which caused her mother to turn at her husband with a doubtful look.

Ryan, being the pacifist he was, proposed a happy medium between what he and Vanessa wanted and what Max asked:

"Well, I received an email from Blackwell saying that the dorms will be reopen on friday, so I think Max can return to Arcadia Bay on that day."

He continued, now looking at Max: "On the other hand, the idea of you traveling alone by bus, given the circumstances, makes me worried… So, I think you could invite… Warren, right? … to come here and accompany you on the way back. He could spend thursday night here… What do you think?"

Vanessa immediately approved the idea: all she wanted now was to know better her daughter's first boyfriend.

….

Still astonished by the way things turned out, Max rushed to her bedroom and grabbed her phone. Considering all challenges she would face once she reached Arcadia Bay, calling Warren to ask him to pretend to be her boyfriend and sleep over her house at Seattle was supposed to be easy.

For a shy girl like her it wasn't easy at all, especially given the fact that she knew he liked her. Trying to ignore all of that, she pressed his number on the phone, just thankful that he couldn't see how red her face was.

In a quick and slightly awkward conversation, Max told Warren that his intuition was right: she did know more about the crime and wanted to do something about it. After explaining that her parents didn't want to let her travel alone to Arcadia Bay, she told him about her father's idea, omitting the whole "pretend boyfriend" part, though: asking him to come to Seattle was already embarrassing enough, _'I will give him the other "details" in person'_ , she decided as she anxiously waited for his obvious answer: "yes!".

 **A/N:**

I'd like to thank everybody who read my fanfiction so far and apologize if this chapter is too long and boring! Next ones will be shorter and more dynamic! : )


	7. Chapter 7 - A new team begins

**Seattle, October 13th - Thursday**

 **11:59 a.m.**

For a calm and sensitive girl like Max Caulfield, moments of loneliness and hush had always been seen as precious [and necessary] opportunities to heal and recharge her batteries.

Until now.

On that morning, silence, instead of home, felt like an empty cavern, echoing the countless doubtful thoughts that swirled in her mind.

How much of her secrets should she tell Warren? And how? Should she hide some facts from him? From where should she begin? Was that a good idea at all?

All those questions, along with the embarrassment of the whole spending-the-night and "pretend boyfriend" thing made her feel uneasy, but were nothing compared to the fear that haunted her the most: the considerable possibility of Warren not believing her.

In an attempt to divert herself from her internal turmoil, the girl moved her eyes across the living room, eventually fixing her gaze on the chiming clock on the wall. Realizing her friend would arrive in Seattle in less than one hour, once more she tried to reassure herself: ' _He believed me once… There's no reason to think that he won't believe me this time'_.

Once more, though, an inconvenient insight disturbed her mind: for good or for bad, that Warren she was about to meet wasn't exactly the same one from the other timeline.

….

 **12:59 p.m.**

From a distance of 30 yards, Max passively watched the bus from Arcadia Bay parking at the bus station; the several hours she spent thinking and rethinking about all the issues she had been dealing with made her mind feel blank and drained.

The hissing sound of the bus door opening startled the girl, making her jump slightly. ' _This is a mistake, I shouldn't've asked him to come here'_ , she thought as she slowly approached the vehicle with uncertain steps, only wishing she could reverse time once more.

It was like that until she spotted Warren coming out of the bus: seeing him grinning and waving made any feeling of regret about her decision vanish in a heartbeat. Before she could even register, her mind was now busy with a rather trivial doubt:

' _How should I greet him? A handshake would be weird… A nudge on the shoulder, maybe?'_

' _Or should I… hug him? We hugged at his house, to say goodbye, a few days ago… We're friends, friends hug all the time, right? Ugh, I can't believe I'm actually thinking about this...'_

Distracted by her internal monologue, she would probably bump into him if it wasn't for the sound of his voice greeting her:

"H-hi, Max…", he said in a light tone, just barely hiding his concern, as he softly rubbed the left strap of his backpack.

"Hi, Warren", she greeted him back, shyly opening her arms for a hug.

Unluckily, at this exact moment Warren leaned down to catch the bus ticket that fell from his hands, never acknowledging Max's gesture. When he lifted back, she quickly brought her hands to her hair, absently combing it with her fingers.

Before she said anything, he anxiously asked the question that had been burning in his mind since her last phone call: "So… What do you want to tell me? By the way… Is there anyone threatening you or something?"

"No… No one knows that I know what I know. Look, this is a _really_ long story, I thought we could have lunch and then head to a calm place, what do you think?"

A little more relieved, he replied: "Sounds perfect! So, where did you park your car?'

Smirking at him, she pointed to a bike sharing station: "Ta-da!"

"Really?", he chuckled. "I feel so hipster already!"

"Oh, shut up or you'll have an organic-vegan-gluten-free-$ 30 burger for lunch!", she joked.

Still laughing, they got on the bicycles, happily riding through Seattle's bike lanes.

….

 **02:53 p.m.**

After having delicious traditional burgers for lunch, the two students grabbed some chocolate milkshakes and headed to one of Max's favorite places at the big city: the Washington Park Arboretum.

As soon as they got inside the park, Max stopped talking and hurried the pace, eager to get to the spot that she considered as an "open-air refuge". Once there, both sat on the perfectly cut grass, in front of a calm, sparkling lake; Warren remarked how beautiful that place was, but Max couldn't actually listen to him, since her mind was too busy thinking how she should start:

' _When I told him in the other timeline there were lots of evidence that something really weird was going on, like the snow, the eclipse and the double moon… That made the story much more believable…'_

' _Ugh, it really sucks that I can't simply show it like I did with Chloe…'_

Noticing her sudden introspection, Warren decided to make clear he didn't want to pressure her in any way: "Max, you don't have to -"

' _Unless…'_ , she had an idea and then interrupted him: "Listen."

She continued: "Do you... remember what you were doing on the day Chloe was shot?"

"Sure, I was at the lab. It was right after Organic Chemistry class."

"And do you remember what were your plans for that day? I mean, what would you do if it wasn't for that incident?", she asked.

A little surprised by her odd question, he answered: "Uh… I'm not sure. A little, maybe. Why?"

Despite of his evasive tone, his red cheeks told otherwise: he remembered quite vividly what he was up to on that day, since he had spent the whole night before trying to figure out a way to ask her out. A little clumsily, he brought the straw to his mouth and took generous sips of the milkshake, as though he wanted it to cool down the growing sense of uneasiness building inside him.

Unaware of his not so subtle agitation, Max continued: "Try to imagine that the crime never happened, okay? What would you say if I told you that, on that day, you were going to send me a text asking me to return your flash drive at the parking lot, where you'd show me your 'new' car and… ask me for the drive-in?"

The accuracy of her revelation made him gasp, nearly spitting out the milkshake. Before he said anything, Max, realizing her own lack of tact, quickly tried to soothe him: "Hey… I don't mean to embarrass you. Just tell me yes or no, it's really important…"

Not daring to look at her, he replied: "Y-yes, but… how do you know that? Are you a psychic or something?"

"No. Well, kinda. I uh… have the ability of reversing time, and traveling through it… So, I know these things because on that day - in another timeline, let's say -, I rewound time to save Chloe, and met you at the lot after that. In fact, I lived in that timeline for five days during which me and Chloe reconnected and started to investigate the disappearance of Rachel Amber", she explained in a cautious tone, carefully monitoring his reaction to what she was saying.

In shock, he practically shouted at her: "W-What? How did you do that? And why Chloe is dead?"

" _How_? Does that mean you believe me? Did you actually hear what I just say?", Max asked, almost incredulous at how easy he apparently believed her.

He scratched his head: "Yeah, I guess… Shouldn't I? Is that a prank? I'm a little confused..."

Max shrugged: "No, I just thought you were more skeptical. I mean, even I hardly believe myself..."

"Well I _am_ skeptical. It's just that I'm impressed by your... description of that day. Plus, I don't think you'd be so distressed if you wasn't telling the truth", he said, feeling reassured by the relieved look she gave him.

Curious [yet afraid] to know not only the rest of the story, but also her response to his invitation, he questioned, nervously rubbing his neck: "So, what happened next? What did you, uh, say at the lot?"

She told him: "Not much, actually… Nathan showed up really furious because I had told on him to Principal Wells. He got all up in my face to threaten me, but then you... intervened and got headbutted by him."

A little frustrated but not surprised, the boy mocked at himself: "Yup, definitely sounds like me... Max, if you started by this part I'd have believed you much faster!"

"Let me tell the whole story, I think you might get surprised further on!", she said, letting out a hopeful smile: the first step was easier than she expected.

….

For over a couple hours, Max spoke almost without interruption. Starting from the tornado vision that she had at Jefferson's class, she told Warren about the main events she experienced for the first four days of the other timeline: Chloe almost getting killed by Nathan; Kate facing bullying and attempting suicide; the discovery of the "photojumping" power and the alternate universe where William was alive but Chloe tetraplegic; the return to the timeline where William was dead and Chloe alive.

Warren listened to everything in silence; at this point, the time-traveling thing seemed almost insignificant compared to the intense situations Max had to deal with throughout those days. And there was still a lot for him to know.

Tired from the hours of talking about such heavy and personal experiences, Max decided to resume the story:

"Long story short, me and Chloe investigated Nathan and found some coordinates that led us to an old barn that was actually housing a photography dark room inside of a weird bunker. When we saw named binders there, our worst suspicions came true: Kate and Rachel Amber were drugged and taken to that horrible place. Poor Rachel didn't survive…"

"So Nathan not only killed Chloe, but also Rachel and nearly Kate? What a psycho, good thing he's already in jail.", he deduced, shocked but relieved.

Max took a breath and continued: "So we thought… but there's more. After finding Rachel's body, we went to the Vortex Club party to talk to Nathan - well, Chloe actually wanted to kill him, and I wanted to stop her. After a while looking for him, she got a text from his phone number implying he was getting rid of Rachel, so we hurried to the place where we found her… but it was actually a trap from the real culprit: Mark Jefferson."

"WHAT? The Photography teacher? How come?", he shouted in astonishment.

"Turns out that Nathan is just a guy with serious mental issues and drug addiction who has been sickly manipulated by Jefferson. He killed Nathan and Chloe on that night. Victoria was supposed to be the next."

After a small pause in which he processed what Max had just said, he asked, in a mixture of concern and anger: "And you? Did… Did he hurt you?"

Max sighed and lowered her head: "He drugged and posed me for a sick photo session…"

Her declaration made him feel a pang in his stomach and a sharp pain in his chest; furious, he got up and walked a few steps away, just wishing Jefferson was in front of him at that moment.

After a few instants, he came back and stood next to the girl: "Max, I'm so sorry you went through all of this. Now I want to kill that bastard."

Not willing to feed his anger, she tried to calm him down: "Hey… Don't worry about me. I reversed time, remember? So there's no trace left of what he did to me."

"But you can't reverse you memories…", he remarked in an anguish tone.

After a deep sigh, she looked away for a while, as though she needed to find her reasons somewhere outside of her: "True... But thanks to that I know what he did and I'll do everything I can to put him in jail... I just need to figure out how."

"You're the bravest person I've ever known… I'll do everything I can to help you", he promised, as he extended his hand to help her up.

Still moved by everything she had just told him, she absently stared at his hand; trusting other people had always been difficult for her, and now seemed even harder. ' _It's time for a new team to take its turn… Mr. Jefferson, prepare for round two'_ , she thought, soon taking her friend's hand and getting up.

….

 **06:19 p.m.**

The first 10 minutes of walking to Max's house were quiet. From time to time, she glanced at Warren, who seemed to be deeply absorbed in annoying thoughts, which made her worry: ' _I guess it's too much for him to process… Maybe I should carry this burden by myself.'_

Finally, he spoke out what was bothering him: "Max, I feel I owe you apologize. I mean, it's pretty clear that I didn't stand by you in the other timeline… But I promise I'll make it up to you now."

Relieved to know the real reason of his silence, Max clarified him: "Oh, that's not true at all, I'm sorry if I gave you this impression. You helped me a lot, sometimes without even knowing what for, like when you taught me how to make a pipe bomb. Thanks to that me and Chloe were able to break into Principal Wells' office and find Nathan's disturbing files."

Feeling a mixture of pride and embarrassment - what else did she learn about him in the other timeline? -, he made a foolish attempt to justify his obscure expertise: "A... bomb?! Funny, heh, I have no idea how to make one, I sure just searched it on Google…"

Seeing an opportunity to bright her friend up a little, Max teased him: "Is that so? How curious, your student file says you like to make science pranks…"

" _Science_ is the key-word, _gurl_ ; everything I do is for Science!", he said in a slight flirty tone.

Happy to see him smiling again, she joked: "Maybe, but you definitely have a thug side! I've seen things, you know!'.

More afraid than curious, he questioned:: "I probably shouldn't being asking this, but… Like what?"

"Like... when you headbutted and punched Nathan in payback, for example", Max replied, shyly smiling at him.

"I did that? Cool!", he celebrated, soon changing his mind, although keeping a little smile of pride in his lips: "Thinking twice it doesn't sound so cool now that I know the truth about Nathan..."

"Yeah, but it was for a good reason, he was pointing a gun to me and Chloe", she reassured him.

"Well, at least you rewound it immediately…", he said, with mixed feelings of relief and frustration.

After a moment of hesitation, Max decided to tell the boy what happened, feeling her cheeks flushing as she spoke: "Uh… Actually… I didn't use the rewind for that."

He raised an eyebrow and teased her in a cheeky tone: "Why? Did you... enjoyed watching it?"

"Don't be ridiculous!", she shouted and slapped his arm. "I'm a pacifist, I even stepped in to stop you."

"Ouch, I'm just kidding! You're the most violent pacifist I've ever known!", he joked, lightly rubbing his arm to alleviate the pain.

Meanwhile, Max caught herself thinking about this thing she didn't realize until now: ' _Why the hell didn't I rewind that?'_

A few instants later, she came up with a reason that she knew was only part of the truth: "You wanna know why? Because… Because of Chloe. She absolutely loved the fight because of her issues with Nathan…" The other reason, though, she didn't know, or, more likely, didn't want to see.

Warren grinned: "Cool, that means Chloe didn't see me as a complete dork!"

Max let out a laughter: "Ha! Of course she did, that day was an exception! But if it makes you feel any better, she saw me as a complete dork too!"

….

 **06:49 p.m.**

In a calm tree lined street, Max suddenly stopped walking and opened her bag, plunging her hand into it.

They were in front of a modern design house which straight lines and huge glass windows contrasted with the traditional residences around. Warren, despite of his usual preference for old-style stuff, found it cozy in its own way, wondering if it was an example of the scandinavian design Max mentioned a few days ago when referring to his bedroom.

He turned to Max, who was still rummaging around in her bag, searching for the keys; her hands seemed to be shaking a little, which made him wonder if she was nervous. He knew _he_ was nervous, but that wasn't a surprise: feeling that way around her had been a constant in his life over the last couple weeks. ' _But she… Why would she be nervous? Nah, I'm just projecting my own issues onto her.'_

His train of thought was interrupted when the girl happily shook the keys and exclaimed in a funny yet cute voice that made him melt a little: "We needs you, my preciousss!"

Once inside the living room, an awkward silence began to develop, so Warren decided to break it by making some small talk: "Heh, not knowing everything I did or said to you in the other timeline feels really weird..."

Letting out a sigh of anxiety, Max looked at the front door, reminding that her parents would arrive in about 10 minutes. ' _Damn, why I am such a procrastinator'_ , she mentally scolded herself, simultaneously taking a deep breath to get prepared for the next embarrassing moment of the day: telling Warren he'd have to pretend to be her boyfriend to her parents, and wishing that he wouldn't feel hurt or - her biggest fear - too excited about the idea.

"Alright. Speaking of 'not knowing stuff' and 'weird', there is one thing you need to know before my parents arrive. It's the last drop of weirdness of the day, I promise…"

A little distracted by the decoration of the house , he just nodded silently.

She started: "As I told you yesterday, my folks really didn't want me to go back to Arcadia Bay before sunday… The idea of you coming here and accompanying me on the way back actually came from them... And the reason is that they, uh... think you are my boyfriend."

"Oh! Okay, it's all good", he said calmly.

' _Hmm, never imagined he'd be so chill about that…',_ she thought, feeling surprised and - she didn't want to admit - slightly disappointed by his reaction.

"They must have thought that because you stayed at my house… Do you want me to clarify them or something?", he asked.

"Oh… You didn't get it", Max realized, bringing her hands to her face and thinking about the whole embarrassing situation she created. Resignedly, she explained: "They think you're my boyfriend because I kinda told them so… See, they don't know anything about my power and Jefferson, so... to them, you are the reason why I need to go back to Arcadia Bay earlier."

Since Warren didn't show any reaction, she decided to make things even clearer to him: "So… They told me to invite you to come here… because they want to know you better... as my boyfriend."

When he finally understood, his face turned pale in fright: "Wait, WHAT? Y-you're telling me we'll pretend to be a couple in front of your parents?"

Max tried to calm him down: "Hey, don't freak out. I never lied to my parents, I'm only doing this because they wouldn't understand my issues. Remember everything I told you today, it's for a good reason…"

"I know, but… Couldn't you have told me that little detail like yesterday or at least before we got here?", he asked while nervously wiping the sweat from his forehead with his hands.

Her uneasiness started to turn into exasperation: "Yes I could, but maybe I was a little busy thinking about time-travelling and how to put my serial killer teacher in jail. Seriously, what difference does it make?"

A little shocked to see Max getting angry, he tried to explain his point: "I know, I know. It's just that if you told me before I'd have prepared myself better. I could have bought presents for your parents, and… And flowers for you"

"Sure, and you could have travelled here on a white horse, instead of taking a bus", she said sarcastically, soon regretting of her words when she looked at his face. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. Don't worry, my parents are really easy going, you'll see. It's only a dinner, tomorrow they'll be off to work."

"Okay, but what if they ask questions? What if we fall in contradiction?

"I won't leave you alone with them. If they ask about our 'relationship', let it with me. If they ask something about you, just be natural and say the truth."

"Oh my God, this is NOT going to work, I talk a lot of crap when I'm nervous! How much time do we have? Tell me some things about your parents so I can think of some topics -"

Max tried to encourage him: "We don't have time for that. Warren, listen: you're super-cool, but trust me, you're so much better when you're spontaneous."

"B-but-", he tried to argue, but it was too late.

….

 **07:02 p.m.**

Startled by the door lock opening, Max pushed Warren to the couch and rushed to the center table to grab the TV remote control to turn it on. Milliseconds later, she threw herself off to his side, roughly tugging his arm over her shoulders as she turned her head towards the hall.

"Hi kids!", Vanessa Caulfield cheerfully greeted the young couple as approaching the couch from behind, letting out an embarrassed "Oh" when she looked at the TV.

"Whoa, I hope we're not interrupting anything!", Ryan said between chuckles.

Realizing something weird was going on, Max turned her head to the TV and nearly jumped off her skin when she saw what was on it: a couple of gorillas heavily mating.

The sudden movement of Max getting out of the couch to turn the TV off finally awoke Warren from the trance he was in since she placed his arm around her; as soon as he realized what was going on, he jumped off the couch and stood before Max's parents with hands up: "W-we're not doing anything!"

Ryan let out a laughter and asked playfully: "Not that I want to judge your tastes, but are you… into apes?"

Willing to establish a connection with Max's father, Warren answered excitedly: "Yeah! Totally!"

Incredulous, Max facepalmed herself: "He means he likes ape movies, like Planet of the Apes. We weren't really watching that _thing_ , I was only zapping…"

"Oh, nice! Which one do you prefer?", Ryan asked to Warren, who replied promptly: "1968's Franklin Schaffner!"

The answer made the girl's father grin: "I'm starting to like this guy! Hey I have it on DVD, I can lend it to you if you want."

"Thanks, but actually we're planning to watch it in Newberg's "Go Mate Marathon", Warren said, wishing the man didn't notice his slip.

He did, though: "Go what?", Ryan asked.

"APE! Go Ape, Ape…", the boy nearly shouted in despair.

During the surreal dialogue, Max only was able to think one thing: ' _Mental note: letting Warren be spontaneous when nervous: not such a good idea.'_

….

 **08:34 p.m.**

After a while, the initial awkwardness was gone; thankfully, Max's parents were really easy going as she said before.

Around the table, the conversation went smooth, ranging from Warren and Max's life and interests at school to old sci-fi movies and TV shows of which Ryan was a great fan too.

However, when they were almost finishing dinner, Vanessa looked at Warren and asked the feared question: "How did you get together?"

Despite of her friendly tone, the teenager stiffened and blushed; she was staring at him, waiting for an answer, so he felt he needed to say something:

' _Better start with the truth'_ , he thought, and then spoke: "We, uh, met at Science class and exchanged numbers."

To his despair, Max's mother asked for details: "Oh, and what happened next?"

"My wife is the romantic type, you better have a good story!", Ryan said playfully.

"Ryan!", Vanessa chuckled, starting to feel bad for the pink boy in front of her: "I'm sorry, Warren, I didn't mean to embarrass you. You seem to be even shyer than Max, never thought that it could be possible!"

Finally, Max came to his rescue: "Yeah, he is really shy, that's why I… had to take the initiative."

"Hmm, now you let _me_ curious!", Ryan teased.

Determined yet embarrassed, Max continued her improvised story: "S-so, one day I wrote a science pun on his slate… Something like 'are you made of copper and tellurium?'"

"What does that mean?", Vanessa asked.

"Cu… Te…", Warren murmured loud enough to be heard by the others.

"Aww, that was literally cute! I can just imagine your face when you saw the message!", the mother cheerfully remarked.

Warren opened his mouth to reply, but Max interrupted him, speaking almost without breathing: "Well actually there was a party at the campus on that night. I was anxious to meet him and know what did he think about the message, but I found him dru-, ahem, upset because of a bully. He grumbled something like 'I know how to be invisible here', to which I replied 'not for me' and then... I kissed him."

While Vanessa and Ryan laughed and remarked how surprisingly feisty Max acted, the girl grabbed her glass and gulped down the water in it, desperate to cool down her flaming cheeks.

' _I think my parents bought it, but I feel this is going a bit too far. I wonder what's going on in Warren's head right now…'_

….

 **10:33 p.m.**

Once the dishes were clean, Max took Warren upstairs to show him where he would sleep: a sofa-bed in Ryan's home studio.

The audio engineer was still in there, playing the electronic piano as usual, when the two kids entered the room.

While Max talked to her father, Warren took a good look around: the musical instruments, as well as the recording equipment and the shelves filled with cool and rare vinyl albums mesmerized him.

Noticing the boy's interest for the disks, Ryan questioned:

"What kind of music do you like?"

"Rock basically, especially 80's bands like The Cure… And some heavy metal too", Warren replied.

"See, honey? It's perfectly possible to be young AND to appreciate good old known bands!", Ryan playfully teased his hipster daughter.

Max smirked at him: "Yeah right, as if you didn't love every single indie band I showed you!"

In his calm and friendly tone, Ryan spoke to the boy: "I'll be off soon, Warren, but before I leave, as a good musician host, I'd like to offer you a music. Max, you'll play the bass."

Overwhelmed by the tsunami of embarrassment of the day, the girl tried to arrange an excuse: "Uh, I think we better leave Warren alone, he sure is tired…"

"I am, but I definitely could use a song before going to bed!", Warren said cheekly; what were the chances of something like that happening again?

Knowing that resisting would be useless, she put the bass strap around her neck and sarcastically announced her "vengeance": "Fine… But I chose the song, then. Oh, I think The Cure's Lullaby suits perfectly…"

"Whoa, I hope you're not afraid of spiders!", Ryan joked with the student, referring to the song's creepy lyrics.

As father and daughter started playing the music, Warren began to feel his mind relaxing for the first time since he left Arcadia Bay on that morning; sitting on the couch, totally starry-eyed over the situation, he only wondered one thing: could Max get any cooler than that? Probably not.

….

 **11:01 p.m.**

Max had just laid in her bed when Vanessa entered the room to say goodnight. Smiling, the mother took a seat by her daughter's side and asked, gently caressing her hair:

"So, how do you think we did as in-laws?'

"You were great. You _are_ great! Hey, I'd like to say that Warren isn't _that_ awkward all the time, he was just nervous…", Max clarified, worried about her parents' impression about him.

"I know, honey. Actually, his awkwardness made me like him, you know", Vanessa replied, for Max's surprise.

"Really? Why?"

The mother explained her point: "Because it shows that he cares… I mean, it's natural to get nervous when we want to cause a good impression on people we truly care."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Tell me a little more about him! What's his zodiac sign?", Vanessa asked cheerfully.

"I have no idea… His birthday is November 20th."

"Hmm, scorpio…", the mother said in a mysterious tone.

Curious, the girl questioned: "What 'hmm, scorpio' means?"

"Means that he probably is sensitive, loyal and protective…"

Max nodded: "Yeah, sounds like him."

"And… a good kisser!", Vanessa teased, making Max blush.

Chuckling, the mother said goodnight and turned the light off, leaving the daughter alone with her thoughts:

' _Speaking of kiss… Should I tell Warren about our kiss in the other timeline? I guess he has the right to know…'_

' _Nah, better not. It was a moment of adrenaline, I don't even know if I really wanted it…'_

' _In fact, everything happened so quickly that I hardly remember it… Except for his warm cheeks... and soft lips…'_

' _Ugh, it's really late. I think you better rest your cape right now, Super Max.'_

… _._


	8. Chapter 8 - A few shades of Graham

**Seattle, October 14th - sometime between midnight and dawn**

If there was one thing that Max couldn't complain about her life, it was her ability of sleeping fast and tight - even too much, maybe. Chloe, as the light sleeper that she was, often felt pissed off when her friend simply fell asleep during their sleepover pillow talks. No wonder why Max was really, like, _really_ fond of coffee, especially the ones served all over Seattle's well-renowned coffee shops.

Few things were able to dredge her up from the depths of sleep during the night, and one of them was the distressing and inexplicable sensation of burning feet that she had from time to time, exactly like the one she was feeling at that very moment.

The annoying heat made the girl threw the blanket off and leap out of the bed, but it was useless. However, even though heavily drowsy, she knew what she should do - and, more important, where she should go - in order to feel better.

Already out of the bedroom, she took a quick glance through the hall window, realizing how late it was by the darkness of the sky. As she went downstairs, the surrounding temperature seemed to climb, making her even wonder if the house was on fire. Luckily, the cold walls under her hands told otherwise: there was nothing wrong with the house, the warmth was actually radiating from her.

A few steps further, already in the backyard, small waves of relief began to wash through her body. The cool autumn breeze on her face and the refreshing dew-moistened grass under her bare feet smoothly cleared the sleepiness away, but her senses and consciousness only fully awoke when she peeked through the wooden fence covered with vines and saw a figure sitting next to the pool.

"Warren? What is he doing here?", Max whispered to herself, carefully stepping back. To her misfortune, though, the neighbor's cat chose that exact moment to jump on the fence to say hello, drawing her friend's attention to her direction; she was pretty sure there was no way he didn't see her. Startled, the girl froze, and the idea of simply running back to her bedroom crossed her mind. One second later, however, realizing how ridiculous that would be, she decided to face the situation: it was only Warren, after all.

….

"We put you in bed too early, I guess?", Max greeted her friend, slowly approaching the pool with her hands behind her back.

To her surprise, the boy just stared agape at her, not answering nor moving. A little creeped out, she asked: "Are you sleepwalking or something?"

Her concerned tone apparently brought him back to Earth: "N-n-no! I, uh, just wanted to see, you know, Seattle sky."

His nervous attitude and voice made her realize a little detail: the short pajamas she was wearing showed off generous portions of her legs, which made her suspect that he might be checking her out.

' _As if, egomaniac'_ , the girl thought in disbelief and then sat beside her classmate on the pool deck. "Oh, and did you see anything interesting?", she questioned, aware of his passion for amateur astronomy.

In a reflex, he almost jumped away from her, but stayed, even though obviously affected by her presence. "Yeah! ... I mean... no! The, uh, city lights kind of spoil any chances of watching the stars", he said, sounding quite confused.

The tense silence that followed Warren's last words was only broken by the sound of him swallowing hard, audible enough to be heard by any living being around. Normally, that kind of situation would make Max feel her familiar awkwardness ooze out of every pore; this time, though, she felt different: not embarrassed, nor flattered, just different in a way she couldn't identify yet.

"Hm, that sucks. What were you expecting to see?", she asked, absently looking to the sky. Despite of the question, though, she didn't pay any attention to his answer; as he strived to speak and to not look at her, she found herself facing old insecurities about her appearance:

' _Is that all because of... me? Do I have this effect on him? Me?_ _My_ _body?'_

A quick glance at him from the corner of the eye dissolved any doubt: no matter how hard it was for her to believe, that guy seemed to be not only romantically but also physically attracted to her.

"So, that's why it's not possible", Warren finished his explanation, but Max had no idea what was he talking about. Something about urban light pollution or solar wind, maybe?

She glanced at him and nodded her head, pretending to understand what he was saying, which probably encouraged him to keep talking. Taking advantage of the fact that he was staring at anywhere but her, as well as of the faint moonlight that barely illuminated their figures, she took the chance to study him for a while.

To her eyes, the long black pajamas he was wearing made him look like an anime school boy, which, for a girl that usually liked skater boys, was surprisingly attractive. ' _He looks good in black…'_ , she admitted to herself, remembering that he was also dressed in that color when they met at the Diner in the other timeline. Her internal monologue was only interrupted when a sudden change of tone in his voice caught her attention back:

"So… Well, I, uh, think I'm gonna crash now. Good night!"

His words felt like a cold shower all over her; she was enjoying that moment and didn't want it to end so abruptly. Instinctively, she told him to wait, and then put her feet in the water. During the moment of awkward pause that followed, the girl struggled to figure out what else could she do.

"I, uh… dare you to stay", she said, not _daring_ to [oh, the irony] divert her eyes from the pool. As the words came out of her mouth, a single thought took over her mind: could she sound any lamer than that?

Totally unaware of her turmoil, the boy cheerfully replied: "Oh, of course! Not that I think that this can be considered a dare, but that's okay."

Feeling more reassured, she lifted her head: "What do you think could be classified as a _real_ dare, then?"

"In the present circumstances? Let me see… I don't know. Something like jumping in the pool, maybe?", he answered, scratching his head.

"Like this?", Max asked in a defiant tone, smoothly slipping into the pool, to Warren's bewilderment:

"M-Max! I was just kidding! Get out of there, you're gonna catch a cold!"

Deliberately ignoring his plea, she swam to the opposite end of the pool and announced: "It's my turn!"

"Turn to what?", he asked, completely lost.

"To dare you, of course! I'm a little out of ideas, so… I dare you to get in the pool too!", she replied, hardly believing her own words.

With a look of awe in his face, the boy pinched his shirt between his fingers: "What? I can't do that! This is the only set of PJs that I brought!"

"Take it off, then… Unless you're commando, of course", Max spoke as naturally as someone talking about the weather.

"I-I'm not! Bu-"

Before he could bring any other excuse, she interrupted him: "What's the problem, then? You brought more than one underwear, I hope?"

" _Of course_ I did!", he shouted, his cheeks turning red.

"So… Don't worry, the water is actually warm and I won't peep on you", she promised and then turned to the wooden fence.

While she waited for him to join her in the pool, her mind spaced out for a moment: what the heck was she doing? She was not being her usual self… Why? Could that be a result of Chloe's influence in her life over the past few days?

There was no easy answer for that. To an inner-directed person like Max, it was no secret [well, maybe a little] that she worshipped Chloe so much that, for many times, she literally wanted to _be_ her. She knew that her blue-haired friend had a lot of serious issues, but still, sometimes she just thought that life would be much easier if she acted as fearless and resolute as Chloe. ' _Coming to think of it, this whole situation… lying to my parents, making Warren pretend he's my boyfriend in front of them… that's very punk of me, right? I can be like that too and-'_

The sound of water splashing drew her attention back to her friend's direction.

' _Oh my God! I just made Warren undress to his boxers and get into a pool in the middle of a chilly Seattle night!'_ , she realized, barely restraining a smile of rare pride for her boldness.

Sounding a little irresolute, the boy tried to continue the odd game: "Okay... I guess it's my turn now. Truth or dare?"

Not resisting to quote Chloe, Max stated: "Everybody lies. No exceptions. So, no truth: we play dare or dare."

"Alright, then. Let me see… Oh, I know! I dare you… to get out of the pool and bring me a fluffy towel!", Warren joked, finishing his sentence with a smirk.

"Wowzer... Suddenly I feel sorry for everyone who played this game with you", Max remarked in a sarcastic tone.

Still smiling, he shrugged: "Let's say that you don't need to feel sorry for anyone, then."

The conversation continued playfully:

"Really? Well, at least you're not going to enter college without this super important experience anymore!"

"Yeah, I'll always owe you for that! How can I repay you?"

"I think you could start by holding your breath underwater for more than one minute", she suggested, and with that, their "dare or dare" game officially started.

….

After that and several rounds of dares that ranged from funny imitations to underwater handstands, sleepiness started to kick in, which, along with the sound of a few early birds singing, as well as the water temperature dropping, left no choice for the students: it was time to leave the pool.

In an attempt to break the melancholic atmosphere that began to surround them, Warren playfully reminded Max of his first dare to her: the fluffy towel!

"Gawd, I was hoping you'd forget about that!", she chuckled and then rolled her eyes away from him, as though she wanted to divert her mind from the spiral of thoughts and feelings that she had been experiencing since she started that nonsense game.

At that point, the unlabeled feeling that arose when she spotted Warren by the pool was clearer than ever: for some reason, that boy made her, Max Caulfield, a typical "follower" person, want to take charge of the situation; that night, next to him, instead of feeling shy and awkward, she was feeling empowered - and maybe even a little domineering.

Carried away by that powerful energy, she decided it was time to take a chance on something _really_ bold. Externally, it might look like she was defying Warren; internally, though, she knew that she was the one who was really being challenged.

Wearing a slight devilish smile, she proposed: "Let's make a deal: I'll give you one last dare… If you succeed, I'll do my dare and bring the towels. If you fail, bringing the towels will be your forfeit."

As expected, he promptly accepted her proposal, even despite the fact that it was obviously unfair to him. After a small pause of hesitation, she discreetly breathed out and, with a steady voice, revealed what would be his last challenge:

"Okay, then. So… I dare you… to kiss me!"

Despite of her apparent determination, internally, as usual, she was second-guessing herself: ' _What now? What if he jumps on me or something? Calm down, Max, you can rewind time, remember?'_

After a while, realizing that absolutely nothing happened since her last words, she took a glance at him: to her surprise, he was looking up to the sky, with his right hand absently scratching his chin. ' _What is he doing? Is that his so-called "serious science face"?'_ , she wondered, starting to feel slightly bothered by his attitude.

Noticing her impatient gaze on him, he pleaded: "Wait, gimme more time, I'm sure I can solve that one."

"Solve?", she asked, almost refusing to believe that someone could be that dense.

"Yeah, the riddle! Can you give me a hint?", he responded, looking so clueless that Maxine "The Pacifist" Caulfield, for a second, wished to hit him in the head with a pool noodle.

Luckily, she refrained herself from fulfilling that wish; instead of using a pool noodle, though, she decided to knock him down being as straightforward as possible: "Sure, here it is: I _literally_ meant that."

Visibly stunned by Max's direct statement, Warren froze, but this time it was clear that he finally understood what she was saying. Once more, she felt anxious about his reaction - what would happen next?

After a while that seemed to last forever, he lowered his head and voice and spoke to her: "Sorry... I can't do that… "

Caught off guard by his answer, her first impulse was to [try to] make a joke out of the situation: "What? Wow… I can't believe it. Ditched for a towel!"

With a concerned voice, he sought to clarify what he really meant: "No, please don't think that! It's just… I - Doesn't it bother you, you know… our first kiss happening on a dare?"

 _Touché_ \- of all reactions Max pictured from Warren, she hadn't expected that one. Deeply touched by his manifest vulnerability, the idea of rewinding everything crossed her mind, but she soon quit from doing that - who'd know which chain reaction could that cause?

The big question was: _what_ was she doing? And why? Wasn't it time to be a little more truthful to herself?

"Well, uh… _Technically_ , that wouldn't be our first kiss", she said, trying to not make a big deal out of the revelation.

"Oh. You mean…", Warren's eyes widened as he understood that she was talking about something that happened in another timeline.

Her shyness stroke back: all she could do now was quietly nodding yes.

Things didn't go much different for him; however, in spite of the embarrassment of the situation, he mustered up some courage to ask her about it: "H-how was it? What did I... do?"

"Technically… I-I was the one who took the initiative", she bravely admitted, already fearing the next moment of awkwardness: what else would he want to know?

"And, uh…. D-do you think you could do that again, someday?", Warren asked, while nervously scratching the back of his head. Who was being bold now?

"Who knows? Hey, uh, we have a game to finish. I guess it's _your_ turn now?"

After saying those words, Max looked at him: something had changed. Although it was still dark, she was able to see the serious expression he had on his face, so different than his usual cheerful countenance. Could it be that he _did_ get her hint? Or that he finally had a glimpse of what "perfect timing" means?

Probably yes. His eyes searched hers and suddenly, in a way out of any logic, the 50 inches between them felt too large and too small at the same time.

Connected by an unbreakable eye contact that seemed to magically make the gap disappear, they were now face to face. Before any sort of conceptual thought arose in her mind, she felt the warmth of his hands cupping her face, his thumbs softly rubbing her cheek bones. Under his gaze, she felt appreciated like a beautiful piece of art, something maybe a little too hard to process for a girl like her; under her gaze, different shades of him began to unravel: from dense to resolute, from awkward to magnetic - was that the mystery of Scorpio?

Overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment, all she could do now was close her eyes and hold her breath in anticipation for what was coming next. Lips against lips, fiery tingles racing up and down the spine, rushed heartbeats in sync: once again, their kiss felt good, but was too short. Time was really paradoxical: how come something that seemed frozen until seconds ago was now escaping so fast that hardly could be enjoyed?

Not caring to solve that enigma at that moment, she let emotions take over and placed her right hand on the back of his head and the left one over his right wrist, next to her neck. He promptly understood her message and, in a matter of seconds, their mouths were meeting again.

The second kiss, a bit cautious at first, soon became more intense and demanding, yet still sweet and loving. As they turned more assured of each other's response, both heightened efforts by gently sucking and nipping their lips, in a curious, exploratory way: for the two students, everything was new.

Without breaking the kiss, Max took a breath through her nose and tightened the grasp on Warren's hair; in a surge of passion, he responded to her touch by prying her mouth wider and searching for her tongue. When the desired meeting finally happened, what was already good became even better: the relaxing steamy warmth of the pool, contrasting with the frantic pound of her heart, as well as with the light burning sensation caused by his few sprouts of facial hair brushing against her soft skin, made her feel like she was melting, a fluid form merging with the limpid water.

The peaceful silence of the night, until now only permeated by the soft sounds of their breathing and of the water moving around their bodies, was suddenly broken by a loud beeping noise:

Beep! ...

Beep! ...

Beep! …

Beep! …

Beep! …

It took a few seconds until they acknowledged the unexpected sound; with some dismay, they broke the kiss and stared at each other, their logical faculties still slightly eclipsed by emotions.

Beep! ...

Beep! ...

Beep! …

Beep! …

Beep! …

What was that? House alarm? No, they didn't have one.

Beep! ...

Beep! ...

Beep! …

Beep! …

Beep! …

Fire alarm? Neither, since Max knew it didn't sound like that.

Beep! ...

Beep! ...

Beep! …

Beep! …

Beep! …

' _What is that? Where is it coming from?'_ , Max tried to find out, while fastly crossing the pool towards the ladder.

Beep! ...

Beep! ...

Beep! …

Beep! …

As time passed, the more the noise ricocheted around the backyard, making Max's head spin. In near despair, she called Warren's name, who, at this point, was mysteriously out of her sight.

Beep! ...

Beep! ...

Beep! …

Beep! …

' _Warren?'_

Beep! …

Beep! ...

Beep! ...

Be-

' _War-'_

"Max… Max?", a voice called her name, but it was difficult to identify whose it was.

"Ma-ax…", the voice called again, this time sounding closer.

A soft touch on the girl's forehead made her become aware that she was lying down: ' _Mm… Did I pass out? … Where am I? …'_

Slowly, she opened her eyes, one by one; the bright morning light made it hard to see, but didn't take much time for her to realize who was next to her and what had happened:

"... Mm, hi mom… Sorry for sleeping through the alarm again…"

….

 **9:02 a.m.**

' _What the hell was that dream? So embarrassing… Ugh, I don't want to think about it now. *Yawn* I guess the weather is good today…'_

… _._

' _The weather is great, just like yesterday... Max's parents are really cool, I hope they liked me… even as a fake son-in-law. I wish I could ask her for the drive-in… But how soon is too soon?'_

… _._

' _Too soon, definitely: it's strangely dry today, I better water mom's plants… Don't you dare to let them end like Lisa… Ugh, speaking of dare… Seriously, where did that dream come from?'_

… _._

' _I don't know… Coming to think of it, this whole pretend-boyfriend thing…. Could it mean that she actually sees me as a potential boyfriend?'_

… _._

' _Of course! I just mixed up experiences I've had in the other timeline: getting in the pool with Chloe, being dared to kiss her… And kissing Warren... That's it! Everything has an explanation.'_

….

' _It's not so simple. Maybe she felt comfortable asking me to do something like that exactly because she totally sees me as a bro. Ugh, am I being a pushover?'_

… _._

' _Pff_ , _I'm not that domineering… Well, I must admit that the power made me become a little manipulative, but not that much. Ouch, I always hit my toe on this steeeee-'_

….

' _Watchout. Get real. You should be thinking of ways to help her to get Mr. Jefferson. That's why she asked you to come here in the first place. C'amon, think brain, think…'_

"Huh? Max? Watch your step!"

….

Warren. Sitting by the pool. Wearing black. The air of _déjà vu_ about the situation was strong enough to give Max the impression that she travelled back in time again. The hazy sensation was soon replaced by a much concrete one: the painful encounter of her hands and knees with the pool's deck.

The boy rushed towards her, but she got up from the fall so quickly that his help wasn't needed. The urgency in his voice asking if she was okay, combined with the oneiric feeling evoked by the vision of him sitting by the pool made her head spin a little - definitely, she wasn't the multi-tasking type of person.

"Coffee!", she exclaimed out of the blue, making Warren wonder if she hit her head on the floor.

"Oh… You want me to make some for you?", he asked worriedly.

"No! Out, let's go out!", she shouted: the last thing she wanted at that moment was to recreate any scene of her dream.

The boy agreed immediately: the last thing he wanted at that moment was to annoy her in any way. To his eyes, she simply didn't seem to be a morning person - exactly like him, by the way, except for the fact that she acted a little weirder than him, if that was possible.

One way or another, to him, that wasn't a problem at all: weird Max was adorable too.

….

 **09:30 a.m.**

"Two chicken sandwiches and two double _espressos_ , please", the Photography student ordered to the coffee shop waitress, without realizing she didn't mind to ask her friend what he really wanted.

He didn't seem to mind at all, except for one detail: "We're not having that coffee made of... animal poop, are we?"

His odd question - kind of hillbillish for a Seattleite girl - made Max smile for the first time on that day: "No, we're not, but only because we can't afford it", she assured her friend, who couldn't help letting out a nervous laughter of relief.

….

A few minutes after the meals were served, noticing that Max seemed a lot better than earlier, Warren finally mustered up some courage to ask her about his "performance" as a fake boyfriend on the day before:

"S-so, how do you think things went yesterday? I mean, I know I'm definitely not skilled at acting, but still… Do you think I was convincing enough to your parents?"

Still a little disconcerted by the dream, the girl tried to sound as _blasé_ a possible: "Well, considering you didn't say anything like 'I laughed my ass off at Cannibal Holocaust' in front of them, I think you did pretty well."

"Huh? Although I think that movie is brilliant in a disturbing way, I'd never say something stupid like th-", he argued in disbelief, soon realizing what she was talking about: "Oh. Don't you tell me that… in the other timeline..."

"Yup", Max replied, taking a big bite of the sandwich.

Feeling ashamed, he shook his head: "God, I'm sorry, By the way, I don't know what I was thinking when I downloaded that movie for you…"

"It's okay. In fact, I was impressed that you had 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!'", Max repeated her line from the other timeline, feeling still too sleepy to think of new subjects; besides, she really digged that movie.

"Oh, cool. Russ Meyer was a genius of black and white…", he predictably said, to which Max replied, not resisting to tease him:

"Plus, babes with breasts, right?"

Blushing, he facepalmed himself: "When did I say all these things?"

"On day one, let's say", the girl revealed, barely restraining a giggle.

"Damn, so there are four more days of me talking crap in another time dimension?", he realized in embarrassment, gulping down the coffee between bites of the sandwich.

"Pretty much!", Max chuckled, still not aware that the feeling of discomfort was gone.

….

As soon as they left the coffee shop, Warren, now high on caffeine, was eager to ask Max tons of questions about her powers and discoveries, but she didn't seem very receptive to that.

He was right, and almost like she could read his mind, she said: "If you don't mind, I prefer talking about yesterday later… I'm still tired out of remembering everything, you know."

Despite of his curiosity and eagerness to help, he understood her reasons:

"Sure. So, what do you wanna do now?"

"Actually… You're the tourist here. Is there any place you always dreamed of visiting here, like the Space Needle, or maybe the Chihuly Museum?", she asked, unsuccessfully hiding her disinterest for those attractions.

"Sounds cool, but you don't seem very excited about it… Is there any place here that _you_ always wanted to visit, but never had the chance? Think, maybe it's your lucky day…"

' _Hm… Maybe…'_ , Max thought, as an interesting idea started to take shape on her mind.

….

 **10:28 a.m.**

Thwack! Zing! Bong! Kachunk! - the vintage sounds of the dozens of machines exposed at the Pinball Museum were simply irresistible to the students' ears.

"Oh my God! Pacman! Twilight Zone!" - "Star Trek! Medieval Madness!", they shouted in excitement like kids in an amusement park.

Eager to play, they planted themselves in front of two free machines and let the fun begin. From time to time, they met in the middle of the crowd, making enthusiastic remarks about the last machine they had just tried - and that was just as fun as the games themselves.

One and a half hour later, Max, while playing Creature from the Black Lagoon - her favorite game so far - , suddenly realized how light-hearted she was feeling. It was not that she forgot about Chloe, Rachel and Mark Jefferson; it was only that, somehow, at that moment, she felt that everything was going to be alright. For the first time, in days, she felt a spark of hope.

' _Intuition or wishful thinking?'_ , she questioned herself, but before she could answer, the machine started playing a different music: game over.

' _Almost midday… We better have lunch now, if we want to catch the 2 p.m. bus'_ , she pondered, while looking for her pinball partner among the other customers. Shortly thereafter, a shy smile formed on her lips when she felt a soft grip on her shoulder; the voice that followed, though, made her become serious again.

….

"Long time no see, Maxine", an annoying, unmistakable voice pierced the girl's ears: yes, Brittany Lang, Max's former school bully, was there, in flesh, blood and sharp tongue.

Despite of all the bad memories triggered by the ex-classmate's presence, Max, after the time-travelling week, was a different person. Getting closer to Courtney, Taylor, Victoria and Nathan made her see that people aren't two-dimensional stereotypes; believe it or not, even bullies have hearts.

With that in mind, the Photography student tried to respond as politely as possible: "Hi Brittany… Don't be so formal, you can call me Max. May I ask you what are you doing at a place like this?"

Possibly disarmed by Max's kindness, the girl changed her tone to a more gentle one: "School project. I'm attending a Photojournalism program, you know… I'm taking some pictures for an article about old-school fun."

"Sounds cool", Max replied laconically: although Brittany seemed more mature, they still didn't have enough in common to strike up a conversation.

After a brief moment of silence, Max was ready to say goodbye, but Brittany had a surprisingly modest request to make: "Hey Max, I heard you're studying Photography at Blackwell, and that's really cool. I never told you that, but I've always found your pictures very inspiring… Would you mind taking a look at mine?"

Max didn't think twice and took the digital camera from the girl's hands. Geeky people having fun, sparkling colorful lights and pinball machine retro aesthetics: Brittany's photos were quite good and stylish in a lively way.

"Art is all about dystopia these days… It's nice to see some cheerful work, for a change", the Blackwell student remarked, as she carefully swiped the pictures. When she finally got to the last one, though, a little pang of a discomfortable emotion hit her.

"I-I have to go. It was nice meeting you, congratulations for your work! Bye!", Max returned the camera to the girl, barely giving her time to say goodbye.

….

"The Whirlwind… Kind of ironic, isn't it? Where is it?", Max mumbled to herself as she tried to find the mentioned pinball machine among the crowd.

Finally, she found it, as well as what - or who - she was actually looking for: Warren. Exactly like in the picture taken by Brittany, he was playing the Whirlwind game, and, apparently, seemed to have company: a really cute geeky redhead girl.

The pang felt a couple minutes ago returned as a tightening sensation in the chest, which soon turned into a silent anger - a feeling that Max sure didn't experience everyday.

Warren, acknowledging his friend's presence, turned to her to brag himself about his game score, but her furrowed eyebrows didn't seem very inviting for jokes.

Figuring that she was probably mad at the possibility of missing the bus to Arcadia Bay, he left the machine in a heartbeat - almost as quickly as Max's anger magically disappeared, right after she realized that the redhead girl was actually only waiting for her turn.

Next to the exit, a soft grip on the shoulder caught the Photography student's attention again: "Well done Max, fight for your man!", Brittany whispered in her ear.

"It's not what you're think-", Max rehearsed a reply, but soon changed her mind: Brittany's sexist view on relationships sucked, but she didn't have time to discuss that with her now. Besides, what she just did wasn't what it might look like, after all, she wasn't jealous of Warren. Or was she?

….

 **01:44 p.m.**

After lunch, Max and Warren headed to the bus station, where Ryan and Vanessa were waiting for them to say goodbye.

Many hugs, kisses and typical parental advices later, the two students finally got in the bus and took their seats. As the vehicle took off and Max waved at her folks through the window, she noticed how calm they looked - certainly relieved that their daughter wasn't travelling alone.

Whether it was a parent's sixth sense thing, or Warren's shyness and awkwardness somehow resonating with them, nobody would know. The fact was that they clearly liked him, which made the girl cringe at the simple thought of telling them the truth: she and Warren weren't a real couple.

What should she do, then? Call her parents immediately after arriving at Arcadia Bay to tell them that she and Warren had just "broke up"?

' _That would be the right thing to do'_ , she pondered for a while, but eventually made up her mind: she would wait a little more. Just in case.


	9. Chapter 9 - Emotional roller coaster

**October 14th, 2:21 p.m. - on the road**

Twenty minutes had passed since the bus left Seattle's bus station. Twenty minutes of Warren gazing through the window in absolute silence.

At first, Max thought that he was only admiring the landscapes of the city. However, after a while observing his body language, she sensed that something wasn't quite right.

After a moment searching for words to initiate some small talk, the best she was able to come up with was a shy "thank you" to the nail-biting boy, not getting any response though.

At this point, his evident restlessness made her start questioning (again) if sharing her secrets with him was really a good idea:

' _Poor Warren, maybe it's just too much for him to bear… Am I being selfish? Like, he had no idea of what he was getting involved with when I asked him to come here… I didn't give him any option-'_

Suddenly, he turned his face away from the window, lifting his head to look towards the bus driver while straightening himself in the seat.

"Is everything okay? You, uh, look a bit nervous", Max remarked, starting to get really concerned about his behavior.

"I'm not nervous, I'm just… feeling really stupid right now", he answered, still staring at the front of the bus.

Surprised by his response, she couldn't help bombarding him with her emerging insecurities: "Stupid? Why is that? Do you regret coming here? I'm sorry for getting you involved in this situation, I only-"

"No. Please, don't say that… It's kind of the opposite, actually", he sighed in a concerned tone.

After she asked what did he mean, he made his point, speaking as quickly as he usually did when he was brainstorming:

"I just realized that I could go to the police by myself and tell them everything, especially about Rachel… And you could stay here, with your parents, in safety. So, I thought maybe I could ask the bus driver to pull over and-"

' _Oh, I guess he White Knight strikes again'_ , Max sarcastically remarked to herself before shooting at him:

"Are you _cereal_? I asked you to come here _because_ I wanted to return to Arcadia Bay as soon as possible, remember?"

As he stared at her face with a perplexed expression, Max replayed her own words in her head, concluding that they didn't sound very nice - moreover, they represented only part of the truth.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that… I mean, of course I wanted to leave Seattle earlier, but I also wanted to tell you about the power and all as soon as possible…The last time I saw you in the other timeline I promised that I'd make the right choices from then on, so that's what I've been trying to do", she explained, hoping that he would understand - even though he knew only half of the story.

"It's okay. You know, I feel really honored to be given the opportunity to help you through this… And I'm usually good at finding solutions to problems, but I must confess that I have no idea of what to do in this case and this is freaking me out! It's been 24 hours since you told me everything, and all I did until now was playing pinball with you… Really helpful, eh?", the boy clarified what was going on in his head, sounding quite frustrated at himself.

"Don't be so hard on yourself", Max comforted her friend, relieved to reconfirm that she could count on him. "Seriously, I dropped this bomb and you did the most helpful thing you could do to me… You listened and believed me, and I'll never forget that", she thanked, making the boy blush slightly:

"O-oh, that's nothing. I mean, how could I not believe you? You're the most amaz-, uh, the coolest person I met in Blackwell… I just wish I already had a plan so you never needed to be any closer to that bastard again."

Max watched his shy smile turn into a frown: "That would be great, but wouldn't be possible… As you can imagine, yesterday I told you only part of the story, so there are some important things that you don't know yet. I'll tell you everything at the right time…", she promised a little hesitantly, as the idea of speaking about her last moments with Chloe in a short term seemed unbearable.

"Sure… I don't want to rush you", Warren assured her despite of his curiosity and concern.

"When I tell you a few things about the Prescotts you'll understand why this is not simple at all", she said, looking around to check if anyone else was hearing their conversation: "Walls have ears, we better change subject", she said and then cheerfully pointed to the bus' TV:

"Look! They're playing _Scott Pilgrim_!"

To Max's relief, Warren relaxed in his seat again: "Ah, the blessings of traveling hipster lands!", he bantered.

"Not really, to us seattleites it's like watching, I don't know, ' _Scrooge'_ on Christmas time", she joked in a fake arrogant way.

He smirked: "Hm, is that so? What a shame, I wish I knew that before I lent my flash drive to you!".

"Nah, I'm kidding. I did watch it for like the millionth time! Just can't get enough of Ramona and Scott!", Max confessed, to Warren's surprise:

"You like Ramona?"

"Yeah! Why, is that bad?", the girl asked in an apologetic manner.

"No, but I like Knives Chau much better than her" , the boy said.

Max raised an eyebrow: "Really? Hmm, could it be because she has Asian features… Like someone we know?"

"I have no idea what are you talking about. I just think she's a better match for Scott", Warren clarified, turning his face to the window to hide his blushing cheeks.

' _It's because she's adorable… Like you_ ', he sighed in silence.

….

Just like Max said before, it was about the millionth first time that she watched that movie. Although she knew that it wasn't that good, especially compared to the graphic stories, she always had fun out of it - so much fun that it took almost an hour until she noticed that her buddy had dozed off.

The next movie, an Adam Sandler's comedy, wasn't so appealing at her. Therefore, after a while wondering what could she do to entertain herself, she decided to update her diary.

" _Dear Diary - I know I'm totally sounding like Daisy Duck here, but I need to pretend that I'm actually talking to somebody (no offense plz). I know I've always been good in daydreaming and thinking through my problems and stuff, but lately there's so much going on in my life that I feel there isn't any space left in my mind, so I sort of need to let some of my thoughts overflow onto the paper. Thx in advance._

 _So, right now, I'm in a bus heading to Arcadia Bay, thank goodness a couple days earlier than my parents wanted. Well, in fact, thanks to a few petty lies: I told my folks that Warren was my boyfriend to convince them that I needed to go back to Blackwell ASAP. :p They bought it, but I didn't expect what would come next: they told me to invite him over so they could know him better and he could travel back to AB with me. Luckily my White Knight™ took the first bus to Seattle, without even knowing that he would have to pretend to be my SO... You can imagine the mess, but the important thing is that everything worked fine and here I am! Or, better saying, here we are!_

 _I can't say I'm proud of it, but I'm far from regretful. Warren has been really supportive in this timeline - not that he didn't help me in the other one (he did, a lot), but now he took it to a whole other level. First, thanks to him I didn't have to spend the worst night of my life alone in a cold hospital room: instead, I spent it at a cozy home with his lovely family, and if that didn't take my sadness away, at least made me feel safe._

 _In the next morning, he attended Chloe's funeral with me, and I don't even want to think how would it have been if he wasn't there, especially considering I was so scared of talking to Joyce. In the following lonely days in Seattle, his phone calls were the only things able to drive my mind away from problems and even make me smile, at least for brief moments._

 _Given all of that, by the end of the day I allowed myself to not care so much about the lies to my parents and to feel really glad to have the chance to meet Warren in Seattle and finally have a decent amount of time to tell him about Chloe, Rachel, Nathan, Mark Jefferson, my power and all._

 _Exactly like that time when we met after Kate's suicide attempt, he once more proved to be a good listener, and contrary to all my fears, he believed me right away. It felt great, not only for taking everything off my chest, but also for the down-to-Earth sensation… Read: I'm not crazy, my experiences happened for REAL and I have a big job ahead. And I have a team again._

 _I have yet to tell him about the reason why I had to let Chloe go, though…. But I certainly will, as soon as I feel it's time._

The small cloud of sadness brought on by her latter sentence didn't have time to settle in as she heard her friend let out a light snore. Thinking that he might have woken up, she clumsily closed the diary and glanced at him, only to see that he was still sleeping like a rock.

After a few minutes trying to get herself some sleep without any success, she turned her face to the window by which her friend was sitting, letting her eyes wander through those Oregon's familiar landscapes for a while.

The light and shadows casted by the partially hidden sun inspired the girl, a long time admirer of the _chiaroscuro_ technique. Instead of taking a picture though, she decided to capture that moment by drawing on her diary like she usually did after writing an entry.

Pencil in hand, Max took a good look at the scene before starting to sketch. Although she had drawn Warren a couple times before, the situation presented as a rare opportunity to study his features more accurately, and, therefore, make a better work.

The shape of his eyebrows, the absence of a bruise around his right eye, his teeth slightly showing in between his parted lips: few details escaped from Max's Virgo perfectionism.

She had a hard time deciding whether the asymmetry of his wavy, unruly hair bothered or fascinated her, but after a fair amount of time designing his locks, all she could do was lamenting that she wasn't carrying her watercolor set, making it impossible to reproduce the beautiful effect of the sunlight on his hair.

The girl was still working on some details when she noticed that the sunlight had vanished and it got a little colder inside the bus.

She put the diary back in her bag and looked through the window: differently than not long ago, the sky was grey and the wind seemed to be blowing dark, heavy clouds towards Arcadia Bay's direction.

Before any thought arose in her mind, she started to feel her hands sweating and her heart racing. Suddenly, something that have been in the back of her mind since her last time with Chloe finally emerged:

' _What if… What if the tornado has nothing to do with Chloe after all… what if it's coming anyway… even if delayed…'_

The more she struggled to repel the disturbing thought, the more her mind was redirected to painful memories from the fateful day, plaguing her with the same doubts and fears all over again. The growing sensation of panic didn't come alone, though: as she turned her eyes back to Warren, an insidious anger began to build inside her, making the girl feel more and more frustrated for not even knowing what exactly was she angry at.

Before she could say anything or control her shortened breath, Warren opened his eyes: none of them had noticed yet, but they had just arrived in Arcadia Bay.

….

 **Arcadia Bay Bus Station - 5:58 p.m.**

Awaken by the rumble of the other passengers, Warren nearly jumped off his skin when he opened his eyes and saw Max staring at him.

' _What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?,_ the girl repeated like a mantra in her head, still unaware of what was going on around her.

A couple seconds were enough for the boy to realize that his friend actually seemed extremely distracted, almost like she was looking through him.

"Hey… I guess I slept a little", he playfully remarked, expecting some banter in response.

Silence _._ In her mind, however, a lot was going on: ' _I need to do something… I can't just stay here…'_

Astonished by her attitude, he practically shouted her name, finally obtaining a response:

"Yeah, uh… It's okay. We, uh, let's get off the bus", she said to him, barely able to coordinate her speech and thoughts.

To Warren, something definitely seemed off, but assuming that his friend was just anxious about the next steps regarding Mr. Jefferson, he quietly picked their bags and followed her out of the bus.

Once outside, the boy finally acknowledged the ugly weather and realized that they didn't actually talk about what would they do or where would they go once they got in the small town.

"So, uh, do you want to grab something to eat before heading to the campus?", he casually asked, to what she responded with the first thing that popped in her mind:

"Is your family at home?"

Slightly surprised, he started to rub his neck and tried to answer her as naturally as possible:

"Yeah… Oh, right, actually you can stay over my place again, if you want. I mean, we don't even know if Blackwell is open and-"

Relieved to know that his family was likely safe, she interrupted him:

"Warren, thanks again, you were awesome and I appreciate your offering, but I don't want to bother your folks even more and I really need to check my dorm and organize my stuff. You should go home and stay with your family before classes restart. So, I'm going to take a cab and-"

He didn't let her finish: "You don't bother anyone, but I understand. Luckily, I parked my car here before traveling to Seattle. C'mon, I'll take you to the campus. I have to check my dorm too".

Too distraught to discuss any other options with him, she silently got in the car.

 **Meanwhile, since their arrival, familiar eyes watched them unnoticed.**

….

As they drove through the ocean road, Max's mind was bombarded with flashbacks of all her visions of the tornado and her last moments in the previous timeline:

' _This is my storm… I caused this… I caused all of this'_

' _You're not trading me. Maybe you've just been delaying my real destiny…'_

' _Max, going back in time is what caused the storm'_

' _I know, Max. But we have to. We have to save everybody, okay?'_

' _Whenever you reversed or altered time, maybe you caused a chain reaction… Even in the environment"_

' _Max… It's time…'_

"Hm, I guess it's time-", Warren (tried to) make some small talk, before getting abruptly cut off by Max:

"What?", she shouted, creeped out by the sensation that he got into her mind.

"... to uh, bring out the umbrellas...?", he sheepishly completed his foolish remark.

A road sign indicating the lighthouse made the girl's heart skip a beat and something click inside her: now, more than anything, she _needed_ to stop anything she was doing and focus on the upcoming tornado - if there was one.

"Warren, pull over the car now!", she demanded in a scary urgent tone.

It took a couple seconds for him to process what he was hearing. "Max, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

"Just stop!", she shouted again, letting him no option but obeying.

"Max… What's going on? Do you… Do you want to go back to your parents?", the boy presumed a logical explanation for what was going on as he pulled over by the side of the road.

"No, I just need to get out. There's something I need to do right now… by myself", she explained, barely containing her still incomprehensible anger.

Although confused and scared, he put his foot down: "Max… I'm sorry if I'm being a pest, but … there's no way I'm leaving you here this late, especially with a weather like this, and knowing that Mr. Jefferson is free. Look, I can stay away from your view, I can even hide somewhere if you want, but please don't ask me to go away".

Despite of his gentle tone, she felt suffocated, making any eye contact unbearable for her. When she turned her face to her window, though, her own frightened reflection made her realize the presence of an old, unsettling sensation: the fear of not having control over things - the fear of not having control over herself.

"I c-can't... I don't know how I am going to react...", she replied him with a trembling voice.

"React... to what?", Warren scratched his head, confused.

Max sighed out of exasperation: as each second passed, the fear of the upcoming confrontation with the storm and with the biggest mistake of her life became more and more intense and irrational.

Her silence and expression made a paralyzing sensation of panic spread out all over Warren's body; in his gut, he _knew_ that her behavior was likely related to something that he did or said before; something _really_ bad. Despite of all the apprehension for what he was going to hear, he mustered up courage and asked:

"Max, I know I'm missing part of the story, and I noticed that you've been reticent about it. I mean… I don't know _why_ you came back to this reality… Uh, I'm not saying you _have_ to tell me about that specifically... But the fact is that I'm starting to think that, how do I say? I mean… What did I _do_ in the other timeline? Is Chloe's death... related to me at some level?"

She took a deep breath and brushed the tears off her face. Once more, Warren was proving that he was not only smart, but also very perceptive; trying to hide anything from him was absolutely pointless. Plus, if the tornado was really coming, it was just fair that he knew the whole truth.

"I don't know what's gonna happen, or if we have enough time, but I think it's time for you to know the rest of the story...", she said while staring at her trembling hands.

"So... the last thing I told you was that Mark Jefferson killed Nathan and Chloe on the night of the Vortex Club's party... and then took me to the Dark Room..."

"Well, a lot of things happened there… to shorten the story, basically I photojumped like a billion times trying to escape, but it didn't work and the son of a bitch ended up burning my diary with all my photos... Thankfully David Madsen showed up and saved me... It's so sad that Chloe died without knowing that he was a hero… among other things", the girl narrated, making a huge effort to hold herself together.

After a brief pause to soothe the knot in her throat, she continued:

"Anyway, I let David take care of Jefferson and left... There was a huge tornado going on... the tornado that I saw several times from the lighthouse in my visions... I called you, and it felt so relieving to hear your voice and know that you were alive... Then... I made a 'strange' question: I asked if you had a selfie that you took from us at the party... And you said yes."

Warren held his breath as his imagination ran wild trying to figure out the reason why a plain selfie could be so important.

"I took Jefferson's car and drove to the Diner to meet you... You were there with Joyce, Frank and his dog, and thank goodness you were all fine. You were totally baffled by the idea that I drove through the middle of a E6 tornado just because of a picture... So I decided to tell you everything, and just like yesterday you believed me right away."

The semi-smile that formed on the corners of her mouth didn't last long as she proceeded to the darkest part of the story:

"I explained to you that I needed the photo to go back to the party to save Chloe from Jefferson… And then…"

The dreadful memory made the girl's throat tighten so much that she was barely able to choke out her next words:

"... then you told me that altering time was what was causing the tornado... because for every action…"

"... there is a reaction...", Warren completed her sentence in awe, his mind already foreshadowing the tragedy.

For the first time since Max started talking about her ordeal, she took a glance at Warren: he was sitting on the edge of his seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were white. She then lifted her eyes to see his face: differently than she expected, he was not looking back at her; instead, he was breathing through his mouth while facing the car's front window, looking so terrified that she couldn't help cringing at herself:

' _He looks so miserable… This conversation is absolutely necessary… Yet, it´s feeling so wrong… Why?'_

"What… what happened next? Go on, please", Warren supplicated, not letting her another choice but finishing what she had started:

"Right. I still used the picture to go back in time and _did_ manage to save Chloe from Jefferson… But when I regained consciousness from the time travel, by the beach... Me and her saw a monster tornado above the sea, ready to engulf the whole town... Then..."

"... You changed everything back to the beginning… and let Nathan kill Chloe... to save the town from the tornado", the boy deduced so accurately that left his friend speechless.

The brief and uncomfortable silence that followed Warren's epiphany was abruptly broken when he burst out of the car in despair:

"Oh my God… Max…I'm sorry… I can't… I can't even… I'm sorry you had to go through such horrible things. I feel... such a jerk… I can't believe I was so tactless with you… In fact… I'm the one to blame for you associating Chloe with the tornado... I….I..."

A pang of guilt flashed through Max as she got out of the car and saw her friend walking in circles:

"Warren, no… Any of that was your fault… You were really scared when we met, you thought we were all going to die"

He shooked his head in denial: "It doesn't change the fact that I interfered in something I wasn't supposed to. You needed support and everything I did was judging you."

Remembering his encouraging words to her in the other timeline, she practically yelled at him: "No, that's not true at all. You did support me: you respected my decision to go back and told me you had total faith that I'd know what to do when the time came".

"To do what I persuaded you to", the boy stated, sneering at himself.

The girl clasped her hands in distress, as that conversation definitely wasn't going the way she wanted: "Warren, I am my own person. You just expressed your opinion on what was going on, and only after I asked you to."

At this point, Warren couldn't hide how devastated he was: "I should've been more careful with my words. I… I feel… responsible for Chloe's death", he stated, his eyes staring into nothing.

Max froze as Warren's words echoed in her mind. Responsible? For Chloe's death? That's something she really didn't see coming… Or did she, in a subconscious way?

She put her hand in her forehead and closed her eyes in an attempt to organize her memories and emotions: "Okay, so maybe you are partially responsible. But not as much as I am… Yes, because aside of what you said, there were tons of reasons to make me believe that Chloe and the tornado were related, like the snowfall and the double moon. I mean, for Christ's sake, even she reached the same conclusion… In fact, she actually pleaded me to reverse things back because she believed it was her fate, and she couldn't stand the idea of living at the expense of other people's lives, especially her mother's… Neither could I..."

Horrified by the suffering the girls endured, Warren felt more and more guilty as Max spoke: "I really wish I never took that selfie… It would have spared you guys so much pain…"

"No, it wouldn't. Of course it's a shame that it didn't work the way I thought… But without your photo me and Chloe wouldn't have had the opportunity to talk our issues through and to say goodbye… Because as I told you, Chloe would've been killed by Jefferson, likely with her body never to be found… You and Joyce would probably have died in the Diner… I even saw the building exploding and had to use my power to prevent it…", the girl explained.

"And I…", Max paused as she realized that she didn't know exactly what to say. What would've happened with her if Warren didn't take that picture?

The question drove her mind directly to the barn's garage, when she got out of the Dark Room's bunker and tried to get ahold of her friend; in a matter of seconds, the myriad of scenarios overwhelmed her brain:

' _If Warren had never taken that photo… what would I have done?'_

' _I wouldn't had stayed in the bunker for sure… not with that psycho still there'_

' _Since I wouldn't had been able to go back in time to save Chloe… I think I'd had gone to the Diner anyway, to at least tell Joyce about what happened to her daughter… And to see if Warren was doing well'_

' _Then I would had stopped the explosion again… But who knows what would happen next? I wouldn't be able to keep protecting the Diner building from the wind, thunders, flying cars, tree branches and whatnot forever… We would likely die there'_

' _Or I could be selfish and leave the barn to go straight to the lighthouse, since it was not in the way of the tornado…Except that... I saw the lighthouse dome falling over me in my very first vision…'_

Her train of thought was interrupted by Warren: "Max… I... I'm sorry for the tantrum. I just want to say that you have every right to be mad at me for everything I said and did in the other timeline… in this one too…"

All of a sudden, something clicked in Max's mind: "I'm not mad at you… I'm mad at myself. I just realized that your photo _literally_ changed everything… I'm 99,99% positive that it saved my life, and hence the whole town… It's true that it didn't save Chloe and Rachel from death… But it's saving them from injustice, and that's huge."

"Even if it did, it was something I did by accident… You, on the other hand, clearly are part of something bigger… I should just listen and do whatever you tell me to…", the boy stated, unaware that his words sounded absolutely nonsense to Max:

' _Even angels need angels'_ , Kate told me once, referring to you. She was right… I think you have some sort of sixth sense… You're always at the right place, in the right time… Like the two times Nathan attacked me… Or when you took the selfie and had it with you at a place where we could meet… So, please, keep speaking out and doing whatever you think it's right, because that's the way you help me-"

Max felt a drop on her head, then other ones on her shoulders: it was raining. "And I need your help right now… with this", she said, almost in a whisper.

Warren widened his eyes and scanned the girl's face for a couple seconds, as if she were a riddle he was trying to figure out: "Oh… You… You think the tornado is coming again?", he deduced.

Max sighed in awe: "Yes… I feel so pathetic… It would've been much simpler if I just told you that without this whole melt down… Anyway, I feel much calmer now... What you do you think we can do?"

"You're not pathetic, I can't even imagine how stressful and traumatizing were your experiences… You definitely should allow yourself to 'melt down' whenever you feel like, I only hope I can help. As for the weather… You mentioned that in your visions you were always by the lighthouse, right? Maybe there's a reason for that… So I think we should go there before anything", he suggested, sounding more like himself again - to Max's relief.

….

In a couple minutes, the two students were climbing up the trail that led to the lighthouse; the anxiety to see whatever was going on made them a little incautious about the dangers of running through a slippery path in the middle of a storm's darkness, but fortunately neither of them got hurt.

When they were close to the last pine trees around the trail, a sudden blaze lit up the sky, making both friends wonder whether it was only the lighthouse's lantern or something even worse than a tornado, like a meteor.

The rush of adrenaline caused by the view made them barely feel the ground under their feet; their minds, numbed by fear, were in some sort of blank state, only able to apprehend the sound of their own ears pulsing.

A few hurried steps further, both got to the edge of the cliff, not even having time to catch some breath before looking towards the ocean - and being totally taken aback by what they saw:

Nothing. Or, better saying, just a plain autumn rainfall that was already dissipating,

Max exhaled in relief as she watched the last rays of sunset cast an amber glow over the vanishing clouds; the amazing contrast with the beautiful twilight sky made her feel embraced by Chloe's blueness, and, little by little, just like the sky, her mind cleared completely.

"Chaos Theory… is confirmed", she whispered to Warren, still staring at the horizon.

"This is truly mind blowing... Yet, I'm not sure whether this is good or bad news", he pondered.

"I think it's both… It sucks, because it means I shall not alter time, but at the same time feels reassuring to know at least _one_ aspect of my power, even if it proves it's the most useless power ever", the girl shrugged and then sat on the bench, letting out a half smile of astonishment.

He joined her in the bench: "I don't know, in a matter of two weeks you discovered that you can rewind and freeze time, AND jump to the past using photos… And all of that happened by "accident"... I mean, I think it's pretty possible that your known abilities are parts of a whole… And maybe other powers may unravel as you master your skills…"

Warren had a point: all her abilities were discovered by accident: it was like that with the rewind power that she first used to save Chloe from Nathan, as well with the time-freezing experience that she had when Kate attempted suicide, and with the photojump power that she discovered when trying to save William. Her head spinned: could it be that she had other skills, or that she could at least masterize what she already had?

She shook her head, feeling too tired to explore those concepts at that moment.

As the two friends went down the trail back to the car and Max absorbed everything that just happened, a warming feeling of hope began to rise in her chest.

Worried about her quietness, Warren glanced at her face to check how she was doing: to his surprise, she was smiling.

"Your sixth sense power seems confirmed to me! Coming up here was indeed the best thing to do", the girl remarked in a soft cheerful voice.

Relieved to see that she was getting better, Warren joked: "Nah, I think I'm just really lucky! If it was to have a superpower, I wish I could give you luck, like a permanent D&D Critical Hit, what do you think?"

' _For luck'_ , the words echoed in her mind as she looked at him. His words, his smile, his hair, wet from the rain, everything seemed to conspire to bring her memories from their real kiss, in the Diner, and unreal one, in her dream on the night before.

"M-maybe you already have that power!", she bantered, thanking God it was too dark for anyone to notice the color of her cheeks.

….

 **Two Whales Diner - 7:38 p.m.**

' _Hm, the rain has stopped. If I knew it wouldn't last long, I wouldn't've ordered so much food…'_

' _I wonder where are those two... Well, they're not necessarily together…'_

' _Of course they are, stupid! You saw it with your own eyes, no one told you!'_

' _Maybe Warren was just paying a visit for relatives in Seattle... And then happened to meet Max on the way back, who knows?'_

' _Full stop: you're much smarter than that. Remember how he ran to the hospital to be with her the other day… There's a huge chance that he took her to Seattle and spent the whole week there in her house… which would mean they're pretty official now…'_

' _On the other hand, they didn't seem much like a couple when I saw them getting out of the bus… In fact, Max looked really bothered about something… What could it be? Hm, maybe she got tired of using him as her doormat?'_

' _Ugh, whatever. Those two actually deserve each other… More and more I think Warren has two faces… That's the only explanation, since they obviously have nothing in common… Maybe I should help Max to see his other side…'_

' _Yeah, that'll teach 'em a lesson… Or my name isn't...'_

' _Brooke!',_ Warren happily acknowledged his friend's presence from the outside: she was close to the door and seemed to be writing something on the wall. She didn't see him though; when he was about to enter, she went back to her table, apparently to get something from her bag.

 **[Looking for a lady friend to go with. Call me.]** , the boy read what the girl had just written on a post-it attached to a "Go Ape!" poster that was next to the entrance.

Warren froze, torn between shame for his nosiness and surprise:

' _Brooke wants to 'Go Ape' with a lady friend? Funny, she talked so much about that marathon that I actually thought she wanted to go with me… If Max said no on that day I'd totally go with Brooke, she's such a nice friend and she loves ape movies… Well, anyway, seems that she prefers the company of a girl… But why going with a random stranger girl when Alyssa would certainly be happy to join her? That's kinda weird… Unless… '_

An unforeseen possibility crossed his mind: ' _... Unless she wants to go on a date… with a girl?'_

Warren shook his head: ' _Of course not, not Brooke. I'd have noticed something like that by this time. Anyway, I think it´ll be better if she doesn't know that I saw this.'_ As discreetly as possible, he sat by a table and waited while Max called her parents outside.

' _I wish I could see Max's face when she knows that her crush is willing to "Go Ape" with any chick around! Damn, I never know if Warren's number starts with 98 or 89… Let me check',_ Brooke devilishly laughed to herself as she fished her cell phone in her bag.

As soon as she checked Warren's number to put it on the post-it, she turned back to the door and nearly had a heart attack when she saw him sitting a few tables away.

The ridiculous idea of simply bursting through the door crossed her mind, but she was still rational enough to know that it would make things even worse. After a few instants trying to get herself together, Brooke, the atheist, walked towards Warren's table practically praying to all gods for him not to see what she just did.

A few minutes later, Max entered the Diner; after speaking to a waitress that informed that Joyce didn't get back to work yet, she looked for Warren and got surprised when she saw Brooke sitting with him.

Once she got close to the table, since Brooke didn't move, she sat by Warren's side. It didn't take long for her to notice that something weird was going on… Like, no salty comments from Brooke about she and Warren hanging out in soaking wet clothes? Hello?!

The silence was soon filled by the sounds of cutlery scraping along their plates: despite of all the awkwardness, hunger - for the relief of the three students - spoke louder.

….

 **Blackwell Campus - 08:44 p.m.**

As soon as the three classmates put their feet out of the Diner, Brooke - who managed to remove the post-it from the wall like a ninja - started to become herself again.

Unsurprisingly, the nearly three hours that she spent ruminating about the sight of her crush and the hipster girl arriving together from Seattle made her extra-grumpy and sharp-tongued, but Max and Warren didn't bother themselves about it, as from their perspective the single fact that Brooke was alive seemed something miraculous enough to be celebrated.

When they finally arrived at the campus, Max got out of the car and stood up in front of the main building for a while. Apart of the light poles, there was not a single light on in the school, indicating that there was no one else there.

' _This won't be easy at all… but I need to… I have to'_ , she encouraged herself as she tried to divert her mind from the vivid memories brought on by that place.

Max's distraught expression unsettled Brooke; for the first since she arrived in Arcadia Bay, she let go of the blind jealousy for a while and managed to reflect on how hard that situation should be for her.

"Poor Max, it must be awful to see someone being killed…", Brooke whispered to Warren in a sincere tone of concern.

"Yeah, especially considering that the victim was her childhood friend", Warren responded in a serious voice while carrying their bags to the dorms' entrance.

The information was like a gut punch; feeling small and ashamed, Brooke couldn't even bear looking at Max; all she wanted now was to crawl to her dorm room and lay down in fetal position on the cold floor.

The three students climbed the stairs to the girls' dorm holding their breaths; apart from their own footsteps, the only sounds to be heard were a couple owls hooting and some sort of white noise produced by the air conditioning system, which created a whole sensation of "zombie apocalypse" that turned that night even creepier than it already was.

"Please call me if you need anything, no matter what time it is, okay?", Brooke overheard Warren speaking to Max next to her door.

' _Hm, he's not staying with her, so I guess they're not dating after all… Unless they want to keep it low profile_ ', Brooke speculated as she started to feel more and more disgusted with herself.

"Good night Brooke! Don't spend the whole night playing Higurashi or you won't get any sleep!", the boy teased her before leaving the dorm.

"You had to remind me of this creepy game, didn't you?", she retorted while picking her bags from the floor. When she was about to enter her room, though, she noticed that Max was still standing in front of her door.

"G-good night, Brooke. Don't forget to lock your door", Max said right before practically jumping into her room and slamming the door.

"Sure, you too- whatever", Brooke mumbled and then entered her room.

….

' _Max looked so frightened… Well, who wouldn't, in her place? I don't know if I'd come back to school if I witnessed something like she did…'_

… _._

' _It's so creepy here, maybe I should've accepted Warren's offer to stay over his house again… But then Brooke would be alone here…'_

… _._

' _I don't understand why did she come back today, instead of Sunday, since Seattle is only 4 hours away from here… But I must admit I'm glad that she and Warren are here… It would be really scary to stay here all alone… It still is, actually…'_

… _._

' _I wonder where Jefferson is right now… Is he here in Arcadia Bay? Maybe he's in the Dark Room, preparing his next crime… Ugh, no, I don't even want to think about it… I only hope he doesn't come here tonight… He wouldn't, right?'_

….

' _God, I want to kill Warren. Damn, now I can't stop thinking about that Higurashi game… But I really need to go out to brush my teeth… Damn...'_

….

' _I really hope Brooke did lock her door. But damn, she's so stubborn that I wouldn't doubt that she didn't just because I told her to… Maybe I should check...'_

….

"Aaaaaaaaah!", Brooke shrieked when she opened her door and found Max holding the doorknob from the outside.

"Uuuh, that's so... _ironic_ , isn't it?", Max clumsily improvised a smart-ass response.

"Huh? The only irony here is a hipster like you ignoring the concept of irony", Brooke retorted with all the sarcasm she could muster.

Her mischievous smile didn't resist Max's visible vulnerability and the creepiness of the dark, empty hallway in front of her for long: although she always played tough, the truth was that she was scared as hell and, as hard as it was to admit, she felt truly sorry for Max.

"Uh, well, uh… since you're here, would you mind keeping me company while I brush my teeth?", Brooke asked, barely believing her own words.

"Oh, sure", Max agreed, rather surprised. "Uh, since we're going there, would it be too much if I asked you to wait for me while I shower? I'll be quick, I promise", she sheepishly asked.

The request sounded slightly odd, but a new peek in the hallway was enough to Brooke make her mind: "Hm… okay. Actually, I think I'll take a shower too."

….

 **Warren:** Hey Brooke! what's the name of that movie u mentioned the other day [10/14 9:01 p.m.]

 **Warren:** With creepy clowns from outer space [10/14 9:01 p.m.]

 **Warren:** Or something like that? [10/14 9:02 p.m.]

 **Warren:** Nevermind, just found it [10/14 9:07 p.m.]

 **Warren:** Killer klowns from Outer Space [10/14 9:07 p.m.]

 **Warren:** Pretty self explanatory title actually [10/14 9:08 p.m.]

' _No response… I hope Brooke is not mad at me for mentioning Higurashi… Nah, she's probably kicking ass in League of Legends'_ , Warren wondered as he checked his torrents on his computer.

Among other stuff, he was downloading a few movies and animes that he thought Max might like. Wondering how was she doing, he grabbed his phone again and typed:

 **Warren:** Hey Max, just checking up on u [10/14 9:10 p..m.]

 **Warren:** I hope you're feeling better [10/14 9:11 p.m.]

 **Warren:** we can meet tomorrow 2 talk abt next steps if u want [10/14 9:16 p.m.]

' _Max is not responding too… Maybe she's playing World of Warcraft? Hm, I don't think she'd be on the mood...',_ Warren sighed out, as a lump of anxiety built inside his chest.

He opened his window and leaned out a little, sniffing the cool air: ' _This silence is sure helping to create a spooky atmosphere here… I guess David Madsen didn't get back to work yet... Samuel may be somewhere around… But he's just a janitor, not a guard.'_

A couple minutes later, he checked his phone again: ' _The girls didn't return my messages yet… I'm starting to get worried. I don't think that that Jefferson teacher will attack any time soon… But who knows how a psychotic mind works? Come to think of, tonight could make a great opportunity for him… Damnit…'_

….

Foot by foot, Warren climbed the stairs to the girls' dorm, making a huge effort to keep himself together and to not let his thoughts wander through the worst-case scenarios that insisted to haunt his mind.

The further he went, though, the more the surroundings seemed to conspire in bringing up every horror references that he could remember: eery hallway? Check. Creepy darkness? Check. Howling wind? Check. Mysterious mist? Check.

' _Wait a minute… Mist? Where is it coming from? I hope it's not smoke'_ , the boy wondered as he looked around.

The darkness and the breeze made everything more difficult for him, but he soon found the direction where the fog was coming from; instantly, the memory of Max telling him that Jefferson burned her photos in the other timeline popped in his mind: ' _It can't be… It can't be…'_ , he murmured to himself, his heart beating faster and faster.

The apparent sound of Max's voice muffled through the walls was the last straw to his weakened rationality: when he realized there was a door in front of him, he was already pushing it with all his strength.

….

In the next second, a new horror reference joined Warren's journey through the girls' dorm: the horror movie scream, performed by Max and Brooke when they saw him practically bursting through the showers' door.

Luckily, the girls were in their pajamas, ready to go to their rooms, but that didn't prevent Warren from becoming as red as a tomato.

"O-oh… So it's steam… and it's coming from the showers…", he stumbled over himself to explain his behavior.

As predictable, Brooke lashed at the poor boy: "Wow, you really break the bounds of science. What's next? Ice is cold?"

"I-I'm sorry, I was so worried about you two that I didn't realize this door led to the girls' shower", he apologized, not knowing where to look.

"What happened? D-did you see anything suspicious?", Max asked him, figuring that he might have ran into something - or someone - really bad.

To her relief, that wasn't the case: "No, I just freaked out because neither of you were responding my texts and-"

Before he finished, Brooke snorted and taunted him: "And then you thought ' _ooh, maybe I should crash their spa party before they start the pillow fight in thongs_ '."

"... Really?", the boy asked as his imagination inadvertently pictured the scene, making him blush even more.

A few seconds later, he came to himself: "I mean, what? Apparently you've been playing way too much _Yuri_ visual novels lately…", Warren mocked back, remembering Brooke's suspicious post-it.

"Ha! As if you weren't the _Yuri_ -male- _Fujoshi_ here!", Brooke taunted her friend once more.

"Uh… I'm afraid I'm not following you…. What's this Yu-thing you're talking about?", Max shyly interrupted the dialogue that seemed more like a comedy duo to her.

"N-Nevermind!", Warren and Brooke replied in unison, sounding quite embarrassed.

"Hm, okay. Anyway, I think we're all a bit edgy tonight, and it's still really early… So, why don't we just chill for a moment?", Max proposed, just hoping that Brooke wouldn't jump on her neck or anything like that.

….

"So, what are we gonna watch?", Max asked her two schoolmates as she turned her notebook on.

Brooke threw her body on Max's couch while checking her own cell phone: " _Killer Klowns from Outer Space_! You're kidding me, right?", she scoffed at Warren's message.

"Why not? It's not creepy, it's funny actually", the boy argued.

"Sounds fun, but I'll second Brooke. I think we need something... lighter", Max reasoned, trying to be as diplomatic as possible.

"If you want something light, nothing better than an 80's movie. How about _Back to the Future_?", Brooke suggested.

"No!", Max and Warren objected in unison. "I, uh, guess I'm not in the mood for time-traveling movies, sorry", Max apologized and then clasped her hands in excitement:

"Oh, I know! Let's watch _Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within_!"

"Now _you_ must be kidding! Seriously, how much are you being paid to say such nonsense?", Brooke mercilessly sneered at the photography student.

Feeling slightly annoyed by Brooke's bluntness, Max shrugged: "I don't care what anybody says, that's one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. What do you think, Warren?"

Shocked by her opinion, the boy froze: "Uuuh… Sounds fun, but I'll second Brooke", he jokingly repeated her line.

Not understanding what was wrong with those two, Max quit: "Okay, what's gonna be then? I'm down with anything that doesn't involve time-traveling or otters..."

Brooke looked at Max, once more telling herself to be kinder to the hipster girl, at least for the time being: "I'll don't even try to understand such eccentric restrictions, but I think I have an idea..."

….

Minutes later, Max was watching _Scott Pilgrim_ for the millionth second time in her life.

She didn't care, though, as watching it with Warren and Brooke in her room was even funnier than the movie itself, especially after they found out that Brooke also shipped Scott with Ramona, to Max's satisfaction and Warren's dismay.

From time to time, Max, who was lying in her bed, glanced at Brooke, on the couch, or at Warren, on an improvised pile of blankets and cushions on the floor: seeing both students alive, with a whole life ahead of them felt so reassuring that she finally felt her mind and body relaxing a bit.

For brief moments, she caught herself thinking how deeply her life and views changed lately. Time, space, reality: never in a million years she would imagine that her life experience would be so intimately entwined with that.

Among all those grandiose concepts, though, a mundane one took place in her mind: Warren and Brooke had a really nice dynamic between them, and it was rather fun watching it. However, they definitely didn't seem perfect for each other as she thought until a few weeks ago...


End file.
